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NIST 800-171 vs NIST 800-53
Understanding how to comply with NIST 800-171 can be difficult enough, but sometimes companies become confused about whether they should be complying with NIST SP 800-171 or NIST 800-53. What is the difference between these two standards and how do you know which is the best standard for your purposes?
What is NIST 800-53?
NIST 800-53 is, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), “an assessment procedure that provides a framework and starting points for control assessments and can be tailored to the needs of organizations and assessors.” NIST 800-53 was released in 2005. The most recent edition is revision 5. NIST 800-53 was created to help non-federal agencies secure their data. The standard incorporates twenty control families and (as of r. 5) over 1,000 controls.
NIST 800-53 is not intended for use among organizations that handle or store Controlled Unclassified Information or CUI. The main intent of these controls is to help companies meet the requirements set out by FISMA, or the Federal Information Security Management Act.
What is the Difference between NIST 800-171 and NIST800-53?
While NIST 800-53 is geared toward nonfederal agencies, NIST 800-171 borrows extensively from the standard but alters it toward organizations that handle and/or store CUI. While NIST 800-53 traces back to the FISMA, NIST 800-171 is mandated by DFARS 252.204-7012. NIST 800-171 has only fourteen control families and 110 total controls.
If your company does not handle CUI and if your contracts are not regulated by DFARS 252.204-7012, you probably do not need to comply with NIST SP 800-171. However, if you intend to grow your organization via the Defense Industry Base (DIB), you will have to be fully compliant before you can win any contracts. That is the case even if you are not working directly with the government.
Which NIST Standard is Best for Your Organization?
NIST 800-53 and NIST 800-171 represent high levels of cybersecurity and information security quality and compliance. However, they both also require a lot of dedication and hard work. The best first step is to take a look at your current cybersecurity infrastructure to see how healthy it is and what vulnerabilities you may have. From there you can determine how you want to approach the compliance process for either standard.
Want some help with that cybersecurity assessment? Schedule a complimentary 30-minute call with our Cybersecurity experts so we can talk about your specific organization.