NIST Cybersecurity What It Is and How to Leverage It In Your Organization

Are you struggling to secure your organization's digital assets?

Cyber threats are constantly evolving, so inadequate or outdated cybersecurity can lead to catastrophic breaches. That’s where NIST Cybersecurity comes in.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a great solution to fortify your organization's defenses. And we’ll tell you all about it.

This article will explore NIST Cybersecurity and how you can use it to safeguard your organization.

Discover actionable insights and strategies to implement this essential framework effectively.

What Is NIST Cybersecurity?

NIST cybersecurity provides a set of guidelines to protect your business's information systems. Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, it helps organizations manage and reduce cybersecurity risk. Its framework is designed to improve your security posture through best practices and standards in your business environment.

And the best of all? All the information and assets you need to start is free!

CertMike Explains NIST Cybersecurity Framework

NIST Cybersecurity Framework Functions

Here are the functions to consider that will make you want to jump into the world of cybersecurity and protective technology.

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Identify: This function helps you understand the business and operational environment context, resources, and cybersecurity risks. You can identify critical systems, assets, and data. Also, it includes the management of cybersecurity risks through solid data assessments. So, first, you must understand potential threats and vulnerabilities. This foundational step informs the subsequent actions.

Protect: Implement appropriate safeguards according to your company's risk tolerance. These safeguards include access controls, employee training, data security, and maintenance of systems. Protection measures limit the impact of potential cybersecurity events.

Detect: Develop and implement activities to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event. Continuous monitoring and detection systems help identify anomalies and potential incidents. Quick detection enables faster response and mitigation.

Respond: When a cybersecurity incident occurs, respond promptly to minimize its impact. Develop and execute response plans, coordinate with stakeholders, and analyze the event. A structured response reduces recovery time and mitigates damage.

Recovery activities: Restore services and capabilities affected by a cybersecurity incident. Focus on timely recovery to ensure business continuity. Review and update your recovery plans to incorporate lessons learned from the incident. This strengthens your preparedness for future events.

5 Steps for Integrating NIST Cybersecurity Into Your Business

The NIST cybersecurity risk management framework consists of five core aspects of cybersecurity. These components guide you in creating a solid cybersecurity strategy tailored to your business needs. Understanding and implementing these features is crucial for protecting your digital assets.

1) Identify Critical Assets and Vulnerabilities

The first step, even before mapping your cybersecurity assessment, is to identify your security risks clearly. Understanding your critical assets and vulnerabilities is the cornerstone of a good cybersecurity strategy and protection processes.

Knowing what needs protection helps prioritize efforts and resources. It ensures that your most valuable data and systems are secure. Here's how to identify these elements:

Conduct an organizational assets inventory: List all your organization's hardware, software platforms, and data. This includes servers, workstations, mobile devices, applications, databases, and intellectual property. Detailed records provide a comprehensive view of what needs protection. Follow the next guide if you have questions about what exactly is an inventory of assets.

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Classify assets by criticality: Determine the importance of each asset. Consider the impact of their compromise on your business. Rank them based on their significance to operations, revenue, and regulatory compliance.
Identify potential threats: Research threats relevant to your industry. Understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) cyber adversaries use. Focus on those that could target your high-value assets.
Assess vulnerabilities: Perform vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify weaknesses in your systems, applications, and network configurations. Use automated tools and manual techniques for thorough evaluation.
Map assets to threats and vulnerabilities: Create a risk matrix. Correlate each critical asset with potential threats and identified vulnerabilities. This visualization helps prioritize risk mitigation efforts.

To create a risk matrix that effectively maps assets to threats and vulnerabilities, you can utilize specialized tools designed for this purpose. One such tool is Miro's Risk Matrix Template, which offers a customizable framework to assess and prioritize risks based on their probability and impact. This template allows for collaborative input, making it suitable for team-based risk assessments.

Alternatively, MyMap's AI Risk Matrix Maker provides an AI-powered approach to generating risk matrices. By inputting your project's risk factors, the tool automatically creates a probability-impact matrix, facilitating informed decision-making and prioritization.

For a more traditional method, you can create a risk assessment matrix using Microsoft Excel. This approach allows for customization and flexibility in design. A tutorial on how to construct a risk assessment matrix in Excel is available here:

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Insider Tip:

Update your asset inventory and vulnerability assessments regularly. This dynamic approach ensures that new assets and emerging threats are promptly addressed. Continuous monitoring and periodic review cycles allow you to stay ahead of evolving cyber risks. This proactive stance enhances security posture and aligns with regulatory requirements.

2) Protect Assets by Implementing Security Measures

Implementing security measures to protect your assets is critical in safeguarding your business from cyber threats.

This involves deploying various strategies to ensure your systems, data, and networks are resilient against attacks. Each measure should address specific risks identified in your asset inventory. Here’s how to get started:

Implement access controls: Define and enforce user access levels. Ensure that employees have access only to the data and systems necessary for their roles. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security, and use complex recovery processes.

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Install security software: Deploy antivirus, anti-malware, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. These protect your systems from malicious software and provide real-time threat monitoring.
Apply Patches and updates: Regularly update your software and systems. Ensure that security patches are applied promptly to close vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.
Encrypt sensitive data: Encrypt data at rest and in transit to ensure it remains unreadable even if it is intercepted or accessed without authorization.
Conduct security awareness training: Educate your employees about cybersecurity best practices. Training helps them recognize phishing attempts and other social engineering attacks, reducing the risk of human error.

Insider Tip:

Integrate a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system into your security framework. This allows for centralized logging and real-time analysis of security alerts, which help you detect and respond to incidents faster. A proactive SIEM approach significantly enhances overall security posture and makes it easier to spot potential breaches early.

3) Detect Cybersecurity incidents in Real-Time

Detecting real-time cybersecurity incidents minimizes damage and ensures swift recovery and smooth organizational operations. Quick detection helps you contain threats before they escalate, preserving your business's integrity and customer trust. A proactive detection strategy can significantly reduce attackers' time to exploit vulnerabilities. Here’s how to achieve effective real-time incident detection:

Deploy Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Use network-based and host-based IDS to monitor and analyze network traffic and system activities. These systems can alert you to suspicious behavior or potential threats as they occur. Through a firewall, it prevents suspicious behavior.

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Implement continuous monitoring: Set up continuous monitoring tools for your network, applications, and endpoints. Ensure that logs from various sources are collected and analyzed in real time. This helps in the early detection of anomalies.
Utilize machine learning algorithms: Integrate machine learning algorithms into your monitoring systems. These algorithms can identify patterns and predict potential threats based on historical data, enhancing your detection capabilities.
Set up alerting mechanisms: Configure alerting mechanisms to notify relevant personnel immediately when suspicious activities are detected. Categorize alerts by severity to prioritize response efforts.
Conduct regular threat hunting: Perform proactive threat hunting to identify hidden threats within your environment. Use advanced tools and techniques to search for indicators of compromise (IoCs) that may not trigger automatic alerts.

Insider Tip:

Integrate threat intelligence feeds into your detection systems. This provides you with real-time data on emerging threats and attacker techniques, which allows you to adjust your defenses promptly. We recommend combining internal data with external threat intelligence for a comprehensive detection strategy. This approach ensures you are one step ahead of potential attackers, improving your security posture.

4) Respond Effectively to Security Breaches

Recovery planning is a must! Responding effectively to security breaches is vital for minimizing damage and maintaining trust.

An efficient response strategy can drastically reduce recovery time and impact. It also helps prevent future incidents by addressing vulnerabilities quickly. Here’s a structured approach to managing a security breach:

Activate your plan: Initiate your pre-established incident response plan immediately. This ensures that everyone knows their role and actions are coordinated.
Contain the breach: Isolate affected systems to prevent the spread of the breach. Disconnect networks, disable compromised accounts, and halt any unauthorized processes.
Identify the root cause: Conduct a thorough investigation to determine how the breach occurred. Analyze logs, review security alerts, and use forensic tools to understand the attack vector.
Eradicate the threat: Remove malicious software, close exploited vulnerabilities, and ensure all traces of the threat are eliminated from your environment.
Communicate transparently: Inform stakeholders, including customers, partners, and regulatory bodies. Provide clear updates on the breach, your response actions, and any data affected.

Here is a workflow on how things should go when response planning and how your cybersecurity team needs to respond:

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Insider Tip:

Document any incident and update your incident response plan accordingly. This iterative approach ensures continuous improvement and better preparedness for future incidents. Regular drills and simulations can enhance your team’s readiness and make real-world responses more effective.

5) Recover Swiftly to Maintain Business Continuity

Having a proactive and resilient team after a critical cybersecurity incident is crucial to getting things back to normal and running. Let's be honest; you don’t have time to waste.

Recovering swiftly to maintain business continuity after a cybersecurity incident is essential. This phase restores normal operations and strengthens your resilience against future threats. Effective recovery minimizes downtime and rebuilds trust with stakeholders.

Let’s explore the five steps needed to get things back to normal.

Develop a recovery plan: Create a detailed recovery plan that outlines specific steps to restore systems and data. Include priorities, timelines, and team members' responsibilities.
Backup and restore data: Regularly backup critical data and systems. Ensure backups are stored securely and tested for integrity. Use these backups to restore operations quickly after an incident.
Rebuild systems securely: Reinstall affected systems from trusted sources. Apply security patches and updates to address vulnerabilities exploited in the incident.
Verify system integrity: Conduct thorough testing to confirm that all systems and data are fully restored. Verify that no malicious code remains and that systems function correctly.
Communicate with stakeholders: Keep internal and external stakeholders informed about the progress of recovery. Transparency helps maintain trust and reassures customers and partners.

Insider Tip:

Incorporate redundancy into your infrastructure. This means having failover systems and redundant data centers to ensure continuity even during a crisis. We find that investing in redundancy speeds up recovery and enhances overall resilience. This approach reduces single points of failure and ensures that critical services remain available during incidents. Regularly review and update your recovery plan to adapt to evolving threats and business needs.

How to Start A NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework provides free information and steps to start your framework. Here is how it works:

A thorough risk assessment is crucial. Before starting, identify and prioritize the most significant cybersecurity risks you want to protect with your framework.

Once you've identified your key risks, map them to the specific cybersecurity activities and controls outlined within the Framework. This will help you understand which areas require the most attention and resources.

Once the map is ready, begin implementing the cybersecurity controls outlined in your action plan. Continuously monitor your organization's cybersecurity posture and make adjustments as needed.

Document and communicate: Maintain thorough documentation of your cybersecurity activities, including risk assessments, implementation plans, and any incidents. Communicate your cybersecurity policies and procedures to all employees.
Continual improvement: The NIST Framework emphasizes continuous improvement. Regularly review and update your risk assessments, controls, and action plans to adapt to the evolving threat landscape.

Why is it so important to have a clear framework and plan of action for cybersecurity, especially when the goal is to prevent incidents altogether? The truth is, your company’s information may be far more vulnerable than you realize.

Here are some of the most common ways digital security can be compromised—especially as technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

Building a Cybersecurity Framework

Most Common Cyber Security Incidents

The dynamic between cybersecurity risk and solutions is constantly evolving, but some incidents remain consistently prevalent. Here are some of the most common types of cybersecurity incidents organizations face:

Malware attacks: Malware encompasses a wide range of malicious software, including viruses, ransomware, and spyware. These threats can disrupt operations, steal data, and cause significant financial damage.

Insider threats: Insider threats arise from malicious or negligent actions by employees, contractors, or other individuals with authorized access to an organization's systems and data.

Ransomware attacks: Ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent. These attacks encrypt critical systems and data, demanding a ransom for decryption.

Data breaches: This is arguably the most common and impactful type of incident. Data breaches involve the unauthorized access to and exfiltration of sensitive data, such as personal information, financial data, intellectual property, and customer records.

Most security incidents occur because of phishing attacks, infections, weak passwords, and insider threats, which are common causes of data breaches.

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Scenarios Where Security Programs and Workflows Are Needed

These attacks can disrupt business operations, damage reputation, and cause financial losses. That’s why cybersecurity standards are crucial. Here are some real-life scenarios that companies deal with every day.

Scenario 1: The Insider Threat

An unsatisfied employee was just terminated and decided to exact revenge. They possess legitimate credentials and access to sensitive company data, including customer financial information and proprietary secrets from the leadership team.

Without any security protocols in place, this ex-employee could get authorized access, could exfiltrate critical data, manipulate systems to cause operational disruption, or even introduce malicious code into the company network.

How Cybersecurity Risk Management Handles it

To mitigate this risk, a security program would include preventative measures, like background checks on the employee before hiring. Rigorous pre-employment screening, including criminal background checks and reference checks, can help identify potential red flags.

Then, limiting employees' access to only the necessary credentials to perform their job duties would have avoided this fatal scenario.

Implementing and monitoring IDPS can help detect and prevent suspicious activity, such as unusual data access patterns or attempts to move data outside the company network. Additionally, having software like LastPass or Keeper avoids the need for the employees to actually know the passcodes.

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Scenario 2: The Malware Outbreak

A seemingly innocuous email arrives in an employee's inbox, appearing to be from a trusted colleague; since he is new, he barely knows the email addresses and names at this point.

The email contains a malicious attachment disguised as a harmless document. Unknowingly, the employee opens the attachment, inadvertently unleashing a destructive malware payload onto the company network.

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This malware encrypts vital files, rendering them inaccessible. Just a few minutes later, this employee receives an email asking for a ransom to get back his access to all of this information. However, he is pretty sure he is not getting the information back and suspects he might be in big trouble.

How Cybersecurity Risk Management Handles it

Implementing spam filters, email gateways with advanced threat protection, and employee training on identifying and avoiding phishing attacks are essential.

Deploying antivirus and anti-malware software on all devices, coupled with regular updates and signature definitions, can help prevent and detect malware infections.

Lastly, if this were to happen even when all the cybersecurity processes were in place, a well-defined incident response plan would mitigate the effect. Remember: the steps to take during a malware outbreak include containment, eradication, and recovery procedures.

The Role of a Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy in 2025

Cybersecurity awareness is crucial in any company, especially today, where most of our information and processes are stored online.

Just last year, stats showed cybersecurity awareness investments' return on investment was $177,708. And that ROI is just for awareness training.

In 2025, the role of NIST Cybersecurity is only expected to grow due to the number of companies that use technology and digital solutions on an everyday basis.

Some of the innovations and challenges we will see this year are the rise of AI into security solutions, new battlegrounds, an increase in the accumulation of security tools and software, the introduction of cyber insurance, new ways to do digital identity theft, and much more.

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AI in Cybersecurity

There’s a growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals that can tackle threats. AI could represent a solution to these upcoming problems.

By automating mundane and repetitive tasks, AI frees up human analysts to focus on more complex and strategic issues. AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, identifying patterns and anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed.

This includes detecting and responding to threats such as malware, phishing attacks, and intrusion attempts.

Furthermore, AI can enhance the effectiveness of existing security measures. For example, AI-powered intrusion detection systems can learn and adapt to new attack patterns.

Despite the current AI challenges of today's world, AI holds immense potential to transform cybersecurity.

AI in Cybersecurity

Protect Your Business with NIST Cybersecurity

Implementing NIST Cybersecurity can transform your organization's defense against a cyber cybersecurity threat.

It's not just a framework; it's a proactive approach to security.

How will you leverage NIST to protect your critical assets?

After reading this article, you can now implement the five solid step-by-step strategies we discussed above.

Stay vigilant, stay informed, and continuously adapt.

NIST Cybersecurity provides the framework, but it's up to you to use it effectively.

If you are still wondering where to start or need additional resources, reach out for help with expert cybersecurity firms that can help you outline your protection processes and procedures. Secure your information today!

FAQs

What are the 5 components of NIST?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework comprises five core functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

Is NIST equivalent to ISO 27001?

While NIST and ISO 27001 are distinct frameworks with different approaches, they both have the goal of providing cybersecurity workflows.

ISO 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). The NIST Cybersecurity Framework, on the other hand, focuses specifically on managing cybersecurity risk.

Why should my organization implement NIST Cybersecurity?

Implementing the NIST in the early stages of your business development provides a lot of risk mitigation, creates resilience to cyberattacks, increases trust and confidence with employees, and reduces overall costs associated with data breaches.

Is NIST Cybersecurity free?

Yes, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is freely available to the public; however, getting an experienced professional to implement it with specialized tools does have a cost, depending on the professional.