The Risks Of NIST Non-Compliance

Uploaded on 2024-04-23 in FREE TO VIEW, TECHNOLOGY--Resilience

Contributed by Chester Avey

In the constantly evolving terrain of cyber security, organisations sector-wide face an escalating challenge to leverage reliable solutions to uphold data security and integrity. Implementing robust cyber security strategies, processes and even emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools has become a necessity for business leaders across IT, finance, government, and numerous other sectors, especially given the increasingly volatile and unpredictable threat landscape of today.

At the forefront of the collective fight against cybercrime stands the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a household name in the cyber security world. Most security decision-makers are familiar with the comprehensive framework that guides organisations on how to strengthen their security posture. Specifically, NIST is a standard that stipulates guidelines for safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in non-federal systems.

Failing to adhere to NIST regulations can expose organisations’ sensitive data to a myriad of cyber threats and lead to long-term loss of business opportunities, legal fines, and reputational damage. Conversely, when organisations align with NIST’s comprehensive guidelines, they gain a strong advantage over their contemporaries lacking NIST knowledge and compliant infrastructure, while also equipping themselves with a structured and globally-recognised standard.

In this article, we’ll delve into the importance of NIST compliance, the potential consequences of failing to do so, and the NIST-approved steps to take to safeguard digital assets and sensitive information.

Understanding NIST

NIST compliance refers to the adherence to the cyber security framework (CSF) set forth by NIST. These up-to-date guidelines (NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0) encompass a wide range of security controls, risk management practices, and data protection measures, all aimed at fortifying an organisation's overall cyber security resilience.

NIST compliance is particularly crucial for organisations that need to handle and safeguard particularly sensitive or classified information, such as government agencies, contractors, or businesses operating in highly regulated industries like finance, healthcare and critical infrastructure.

Compliance with the NIST CSF involves a series of assessments and audits to ensure NIST CSF alignment and compliance. In turn, if found to be demonstrative of NIST-approved data security measures, organisations can foster a proactive approach to cyber security and instil confidence among their customers, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies such as HIPAA, PCI DSS and GDPR. The PSA Certified 2023 Security Report found that 75% of businesses report that security has become a bigger business priority in the last 12 months, and they are spending more on security-related areas compared to the year prior.

NIST provides a set of guidelines on how to adequately protect data, allowing organisations to accurately assess what measures must be followed to guarantee its integrity and security.

The five components of the NIST CSF are:

Identify: Pinpointing systems that need to be protected.
Protect: The security measures implemented to protect the data.
Detect: The discovery of an incident through tools and processes.
Respond: A defined strategy to respond to a threat.
Recover: Ensuring the organisation recovers quickly and effectively.

NIST compliance offers several benefits to organisations that adopt a compliant cyber security strategy. With NIST-compliant cyber security defences, organisations can proactively detect, isolate, contain, and remove a multitude of known cyber security threats like malware, phishing, and ransomware. Deploying enterprise-grade security threat intelligence and managed detection and response (MDR) solutions, that comply with NIST guidelines, also help businesses mitigate the impact of lost or compromised data, secure sensitive information, and avoid hefty legal fines following a breach.

What Happens if You Don’t Comply With NIST?

Neglecting NIST compliance can have severe short and long-term consequences for organisations. Let's explore the potential risks of non-compliance:

1. Regulatory Fines and Legal Consequences

Failure to adhere to NIST guidelines can result in substantial fines and legal repercussions, depending on the industry and the extent of the non-compliance. For example, government contractors found to be non-compliant with NIST 800-171 standards (as well as others like FAR, DFARS, and CMMC) and failing to uphold CUI integrity may face severe penalties. Some fines and penalties can amount to seven figures high, drastically impacting an organisation’s bottom line.

2. Loss of Business Opportunities

NIST compliance is often a prerequisite for organisations seeking to engage with government bodies or agencies, or for those that bid on lucrative government contracts. The lack of compliance can result in prospective clients or suppliers working with competitors that demonstrate an NIST-approved cyber posture. Non-compliant companies may be automatically disqualified from these opportunities, putting them at a significant competitive disadvantage.

3. Reputational Damage

A data breach or security incident stemming from NIST non-compliance can severely tarnish an organisation's reputation. Customers, partners, and stakeholders may lose trust in the company's ability to safeguard sensitive information, leading to a decline in business and a loss of customer retention and brand credibility. Recent statistics suggest that the average cost of a security breach for large businesses was $9.48 million (USD), which is over double the amount from last year.

4. Increased Cyber Security Risks

Without the robust security controls and risk management practices outlined in the NIST framework, organisations become more vulnerable to severe cyber attacks, data breaches, and other security incidents. If an organisation’s systems and networks are vulnerable, sensitive or financial data can be more easily exploited, not to mention the potential for operational disruption caused by a large-scale security breach or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

5. Reduced Competitiveness

Cyber security vendors are vying for customers, and vice versa, with NIST compliance often being a differentiating factor for those seeking a competitive advantage. Non-compliant companies may struggle to attract and retain customers, partners and staff compared to those that are compliant, thus hindering and undermining their ability to thrive in their markets and sectors.

How to Achieve NIST Compliance

To achieve NIST compliance for your organisation, there are specific steps to follow when integrating and implementing the CSF across your estate.

Conduct a risk assessment: Begin by assessing your organisation's current security posture and identifying potential vulnerabilities and risks. This should involve a rigorous evaluation of your IT systems, data assets, and security controls.

Implement robust controls: Based on the risk assessment, implement the appropriate security controls to address identified vulnerabilities and strengthen your cybersecurity defences. This may include measures such as access control, data encryption, incident response planning, and continuous monitoring.

Develop comprehensive policies: Establish clear and comprehensive policies that align with NIST guidelines. Opt for other frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001 to ensure a consistent and effective foundation for security adherence.

Provide security training: Educate and train your employees on the importance of NIST compliance and their role in maintaining a secure environment. Teach your team how to identify and report potential security threats, and how to properly handle sensitive information.

Conduct regular assessments: Through regular audits, assess your organisation's policies and procedures to identify any gaps or areas for improvement.

Monitor and improve: Maintain a culture of continuous improvement by regularly reviewing and updating your security controls, policies, and procedures to address evolving threats and changing NIST guidelines.

This only scratches the surface of the importance of NIST compliance and the risks of not doing so. NIST - along with other known cyber security frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK - have become crucial components in a secure and adaptable organisation-wide setup. Aligning with such frameworks is the starting point for upholding data security in an increasingly unpredictable threat landscape, which is evolving with each passing day.

The rise in innovative cyber attack methods of high frequency and severity will continue to make the rounds, and those organisations that can demonstrate agility and resilience despite this will be best positioned to thrive in the market while remaining secure.

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