In today’s highly regulated environment, federal agencies and their contractors must navigate a complex landscape of security requirements. For BDMs and TDMs, understanding and leveraging FedRAMP-compliant platforms is crucial for successfully navigating the authorization process and ensuring long-term operational security. This article will focus on why it’s crucial to find and work with security tools… Read More
The Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a central repository for criminal justice information services in the United States. It ensures that sensitive data is protected through stringent security requirements and guidelines. Obtaining CJIS accreditation is crucial for businesses and organizations that handle this data. This article… Read More
Another area of security and data privacy is law enforcement. Unsurprisingly, law enforcement and other national security agencies would handle private information, and such rules and regulations around protecting said information are of paramount concern. Here, we’ll discuss the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services division and its compliance requirements.
Question: Are you internally managing compliance and cybersecurity? Many organizations struggle to match the speed of innovation in cybersecurity threats and face an equally challenging task of managing the upkeep of most modern compliance frameworks. Outsourcing cybersecurity services has emerged as a strategic move for many organizations seeking to enhance their security posture without incurring… Read More
In today’s data-driven world, organizations handle vast amounts of sensitive information daily. Data compliance and robust governance are crucial for maintaining data integrity, confidentiality, and availability while avoiding the pitfalls of a privacy breach or noncompliance. This article discusses what it means to implement data governance policies for data compliance across several different (privacy-centric) frameworks. … Read More
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-218, also known as the Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF), is a critical guideline for organizations that want to strengthen their software development processes against cyber threats. Adhering to NIST 800-218 ensures secure software development, reduces vulnerabilities, and enhances overall cybersecurity posture. As organizations strive… Read More
You’re probably not a programmer. However, how your programmers work on software can majorly impact your software development process, particularly regarding security. Over the past few years, attackers have been able to infiltrate common software packages, specifically through modularity. Shared libraries and open repositories have led to major security issues that, while seemingly small, can… Read More
In the evolving global cybersecurity landscape, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification has emerged as a critical framework for safeguarding sensitive information within the defense industrial base. Developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, CMMC aims to enhance the protection of controlled unclassified information (CUI) from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. This article discusses CMMC within the… Read More
Unified compliance management has become a critical focus of modern security because it helps organizations adhere to multiple industry standards and regulations–a situation that is more common than one might think. For business and technology decision-makers, understanding the intricacies of compliance is crucial to keep their organizations compliant, agile, and within budget. We will discuss… Read More
Small and medium-sized businesses are particularly vulnerable due to limited IT and security resources and expertise, which can hinder their ability to build software for government agencies and contractors. Standards exist to help these businesses stay in the game and remain competitive in a crowded software market, however. Specifically, the Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF).… Read More
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework aims to enhance the protection of sensitive data across the defense industrial base. Understanding and implementing CMMC is vital for business decision-makers to safeguard their increasingly vulnerable digital supply chains. This article discusses the importance of CMMC in supply chain security and provides actionable insights for enhancing your… Read More
Two years ago, we wrote about the emerging zero-day exploit Log4Shell and its impact on various systems. A new report from Skybox Security (covering vulnerability trends in 2023) calls this exploit the top vulnerability of the year. This article will revisit the Log4Shell exploit and how it has played out since our last coverage.
The new CMMC rule proposal is out, and some organizations are getting their first introductions to the cost of doing business in the federal sector. This new rule includes several estimates for the total costs of adopting the framework for small and larger businesses. But is this the final word? We break down some of… Read More
With Executive Order 14028’s requirements coming into effect, government agencies and their software partners are looking for ways to meet these stringent requirements. These include managing system security across all potential attack vectors, including those introduced during the development cycle. Here, we discuss how the Secure Software Development Framework is a good baseline for approaching… Read More
Across government and private organizations, the need to match records and confirm death has become a major concern. People who take out credit or receive benefits do so because they are living, and once they pass, there must be a way to align the state of their benefits and finances. This is where the NTIS… Read More
Business decision-makers can only talk about AI. This seemingly ubiquitous solution introduces several quality-of-life capabilities and significant cybersecurity issues. Here, we touch on Executive Order 14110 and how it addresses this issue for government agencies and contractors.
The Secure Software Development Framework, outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-218, provides guidelines and best practices to enhance the security and integrity of software development processes. NIST developed it to help organizations implement secure software development practices and mitigate risks associated with software vulnerabilities.
Modern industry relies heavily on automation and control systems to maintain efficiency, productivity, and safety. With the increasing integration of these systems into broader networks, the risk of cyberattacks has significantly grown. ISASecure, a globally recognized cybersecurity certification program, is a critical certification body providing standards and assessments to protect these integral systems against modern… Read More
Insider threats are a massive problem due in no small part to the prevalence of apps, accounts, and systems that employees have to plug into daily. Once you’ve let an employee go, there’s no accounting for how they can steal data using their old credentials… unless you have a proper offboarding plan. Here, we discuss… Read More
Hardware, operating systems, software and apps, and third-party platforms are all components of your IT infrastructure, including its operating procedures and settings. Misconfiguration of these components can have ripple effects across an entire network, so investing time and effort into configuration management is critical. Here, we cover secure configuration management and why it’s essential for… Read More
Like any other agency, the IRS works with a network of technology providers and third parties to support its mission of managing sensitive financial data. These relationships present unavoidable security risks. IRS 4812 helps address these security challenges by outlining security requirements and best practices for contractors working with the IRS to handle specific forms of… Read More
IT providers meeting the strict requirements of CMMC might assume that they are secure enough to withstand most threats. The truth is that while CMMC is an end goal for many compliance strategies, it can also complement more resilient security approaches, like Zero Trust. Here, we discuss what it means to consider implementing Zero Trust… Read More
CMMC is already a comprehensive framework that the DoD uses to secure its digital supply chain. The maturity model includes three levels corresponding to the increasingly deep incorporation of NIST controls targeting the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), specifically from Special Publications 800-171 and 800-172. Organizations meeting CMMC requirements, therefore, meet the standards required… Read More
We’ve talked quite a bit about the technical compliance requirements in this space, and IT and security support are the most critical parts of your CMMC strategy. However, business leadership is the backbone of ongoing compliance strategies (and their success). Business leaders set the tone for compliance strategies, prioritizing organizations’ resources and attention to ensure… Read More