Skip to main content
Menu Icon
Close

InfoBytes Blog

Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

NIST Releases Final Cybersecurity Framework

Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security NIST

Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

On February 12, the Obama Administration released the Cybersecurity Framework prepared by NIST, as called for by Executive Order 13636 issued by President Obama one year ago. The Framework organizes best practices regarding cyber risks into three components—the Framework Core, Profiles and Tiers—each of which “reinforces the connection between business drivers and cybersecurity activities.” The Framework Core component is described as a set of cybersecurity activities and informative references that are common across critical infrastructure sectors. The cybersecurity activities are grouped into five functions—Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover—which provide a high-level view of an organization’s management of cyber risks. The second component, Profiles, is designed to assist organizations in aligning their cybersecurity activities with business requirements, risk tolerances, and resources. Finally, the Tiers component provides a mechanism for organizations to view their approach and processes for managing cyber risk. The Department of Homeland Security has established a voluntary program intended to increase awareness and use of the Framework to help organizations of all sizes manage cybersecurity risks and improve security and resilience of critical infrastructure. NIST hopes the Framework will serve as a model for international cooperation on strengthening critical infrastructure cybersecurity. NIST will continue to update and improve the Framework as the industry provides feedback on implementation. NIST also issued a Roadmap that discusses its next steps with the Framework and identifies key areas of cybersecurity development, alignment, and collaboration.