In 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its first version of the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (Cyber Framework). The Cyber Framework was originally developed as a voluntary framework to help private organizations and government agencies manage cybersecurity risk in the critical infrastructure space (e.g., bridges, power grid, etc.). Since then, it has been widely adopted across industry as a benchmark standard for measuring an enterprise’s cybersecurity readiness.
Following feedback NIST received in December 2015 from a Request for Information, and comments from attendees at the Cybersecurity Framework Workshop in 2016 held at the NIST campus in Maryland, NIST released a draft update to the Cyber Framework in January 2017 called Version 1.1. Some of the key changes in the draft update included:
- Adding a new section on cybersecurity measurement to discuss the correlation of business results to cybersecurity risk management metrics and measures;
- Expanding the use and understanding of cyber supply chain risk management frameworks;
- Accounting for authentication, authorization, and identity proofing in the access control section of the framework; and
- Better explaining the relationship between the various implementation tiers and profiles.
Last week, NIST released a second draft of Version 1.1, which is open for public comment through January 20, 2018. The new draft expands on issues such as supply chain security and vulnerability disclosure programs. It also emphasizes the need for companies using the framework to develop metrics to quantify their progress. NIST says it hopes to finalize Version 1.1 in the spring of 2018.
If you are interested in submitting comments on the new draft of Version 1.1, or learning more about its proposed changes that will likely take effect in 2018, the Dentons Privacy and Cybersecurity Group is ready to assist.
Dentons is the world’s largest law firm, a leader on the Acritas Global Elite Brand Index, a BTI Client Service 30 Award winner, and recognized by prominent business and legal publications for its innovations in client service, including founding Nextlaw Labs and the Nextlaw Global Referral Network. Dentons’ Privacy and Cybersecurity Group operates at the intersection of technology and law, and has been singled out as one of the law firms best at cybersecurity by corporate counsel, according to BTI Consulting Group.
