National Institute of Standards and Technology releases a second Draft of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a second draft of a proposed update to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

“On December 5, 2017 NIST published the second draft of the proposed update to the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (a.k.a., draft 2 of Cybersecurity Framework version 1.1).” states the NIST.
“This second draft update aims to clarify, refine, and enhance the Cybersecurity Framework, amplifying its value and making it easier to use. The new draft reflects comments received to date, including those from a public review process launched in January 2017 and a workshop in May 2017.”

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework was first released in 2014, it aims to help organizations, particularly ones in the critical infrastructure sector, in managing cybersecurity risks.

At the time, the NIST published the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Security, a document that proposed cybersecurity standards and practices to build out a security program.

Today the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is considered a best practice guide implemented by numerous organizations and business.

The Cybersecurity Framework was developed based on an executive order issued by former U.S. President Barack Obama and current Trump’s administration also considers the Framework a set of best practices to be implemented by government agencies and critical infrastructure operators.

A cybersecurity executive order issued by the current administration of Donald Trump also requires federal agencies and critical infrastructure operators to use the framework.

After four years since its first release, NIST is now working on an updated version. A first draft of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework was released in January and now the second draft is available since December 5.

Like previous Version 1.0 issued in February 2014, this second draft is the result of extensive consultation with the private and public sectors.

The changes are based on 120 comments submitted in response to the first draft and discussions between 500 individuals who attended a workshop back in May.

According to the summary the update:

• Declares applicability of Cybersecurity Framework for “technology,” which is minimally composed of Information Technology, operational technology, cyber-physical systems, and Internet of Things;
• Enhances guidance for applying the Cybersecurity Framework to supply chain risk management;
• Summarizes the relevance and utility of Cybersecurity Framework measurement for organizational self-assessment;
• Better accounts for authorization, authentication, and identity proofing; and
• Administratively updates the Informative References.

The second draft was released along with an updated roadmap that details plans for advancing the framework’s development process.

Every comment on the second draft of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework can be sent to cyberframework(at)nist.gov until January 19, 2018.

The NIST plans to release the final V1.1 within this fall, likely in “early calendar year 2018.”

The organization aims to check if the revisions in version 1.1 reflect the changes in the current cybersecurity landscape.  It is also important to evaluate the impact of the updated version on organizations currently implementing the version 1.0 of the framework.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs –  NIST, critical infrastructure)

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