The five domains in the NIST framework are the pillars that support the development of a comprehensive and successful cybersecurity plan. They are identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. These five NIST functions all work concurrently and continuously to lay the groundwork for other critical elements of successful high-profile cybersecurity risk management.
1. Identify
To successfully manage arising cybersecurity threats at various levels, including data, systems, and assets, organizations must first fully understand their current environment. A NIST Cybersecurity Framework assessment will assist you in identifying your risks within your industry or business context.
Organizations must inventory and evaluate their assets thoroughly to determine what they own, how the various pieces are connected, and what responsibilities or roles employees have in terms of management. The following are the primary categories in this identification function:
- Business environment – Establish the mission, objectives, general activities, and stakeholders of the organization.
- Asset management – Identify the devices, data, people, facilities, and systems that are used to carry out the core business functions.
- Governance – The procedures, processes, and policies required to manage and monitor the risk, legal, operational, and regulatory needs of the company.
- Risk assessment – Recognizing the specific cybersecurity risks that may affect organizational assets, operations, and employees.
- Risk management plan – Defining a company’s risk tolerances, priorities, and constraints, and then using that information to support critical operational decisions.
2. Protect
Once an organization has a better understanding of its cybersecurity risks, it can determine whether its cybersecurity safeguards are adequate, or if changes or additional controls are required to ensure service delivery. As a result, the protect domain of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework underpins the ability to contain or limit the impact of cybersecurity events.
The categories of protection listed below are critical for dealing with the effects of cyber threats.
- Access Control – Limit user access to your network and assets so that users have the least amount of access necessary to perform their job functions.
- Training and awareness – Provide enough cybersecurity training and awareness to your team members to enable them to carry out their responsibilities in accordance with your company’s information security compliance policies and procedures.
- Data security – Managing the organization’s critical data in accordance with your risk assessment strategy designed to protect critical data’s confidentiality, availability, and integrity.
- Information protection procedures and processes – Processes, policies, and methods used to effectively protect the company’s information systems and assets.
- Maintenance – Repairs to information system elements performed in accordance with company procedures and policies.
- Protective technology – Using a combination of automated and manual tools to ensure optimal information security and resilience
3. Detect
In threat mitigation, speed is critical. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework’s detection section defines the critical processes required to identify cybersecurity events. Timely detection is critical because it allows for the appropriate response to be initiated.
- Detecting any anomalies – Ensuring that all events or anomalies are detected as soon as possible.
- Continuous monitoring – entails constantly tracking your information and assets in order to detect cybersecurity events as they occur.
- Detection processes – Maintain your detection processes to ensure their availability and reliability in detecting any irregularities.
4. Respond
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework also includes a response domain that involves increasing the capacity to contain the negative effects of cybersecurity events. It includes all activities carried out by a company after cybersecurity threats or incidents are detected.
- Response planning – entails ensuring a timely response through the use of properly executed procedures and processes.
- Communication – Covers responses to communication between external and internal stakeholders.
- Analysis – Includes reviews conducted while response actions are in progress to ensure proper procedures are followed.
- Risk mitigation – The activities that keep the cybersecurity event from spreading while also eradicating or neutralizing its effects.
- Improvements – Every time an organization engages in response activities, it creates new opportunities to strengthen the process by reviewing lessons learned and making improvements.
5. Recover
This NIST Cybersecurity Framework domain allows you to highlight the best processes for achieving business resilience. It aims to quickly restore disrupted services, capabilities, and capacities to ensure that everything functions properly.
- Recovery planning – Priority-based recovery procedures are being organized.
- Improvements – The recovery strategy will be updated after a review of events and responses.
- Communication – Coordination of communication with all stockholders to ensure the successful restoration of services