Are You Ready for DFARS Compliance with NIST 800-171?

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day this year, you will need to be able to pass the DFARS – Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement – mandate if you have any chance of continuing your relationships with organizations that handle covered defense information (CDI).

NIST Special Publication 800-171 Protecting Covered Defense Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations, otherwise known as DFARS, outlines 14 families of security requirements for protecting the confidentiality of CDI you must meet in order to continue providing services and products to large defense organizations such as the Department of Defense.

Within those 14 families, there are 110 controls you must address. At US Cloud, we’re happy this is finally being implemented because it brings emphasis on the facets of data security, we’ve always believed were integral to securing your most important information. In particular, it’s now mandatory that you can handle security information and event management (SIEM), multi-factor authentication, encryption of all data (at rest and in transit) and have policies and written authentication for your security procedures and protocol.

We’ve seen many security vendors scrambling to be able to successfully complete the DFARS questionnaire. If you turn to US Cloud, rest assured that not only are we NIST compliant, but we also have an experienced team to help you craft an entire data security program.

Our data centers follow the standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is a non-regulatory US Government agency in the Department of Commerce. NIST’s mission is simple yet powerful: support and develop measurement standards and technology in order to improve efficiency, facilitate trade, and enhance quality of life.

There are four reasons why NIST Compliance is important:

• Data centers are measured by their infrastructure and deployment of IT and applications
• NIST works hand-in-hand with the US government, industries, and standards bodies to boost the adoption of cloud computing by the federal government
• NIST develops standards ensuring conformity and enhancing quality of products, supporting interoperability, portability and security requirements
• NIST’s sterling reputation drives trust that the hosting experience for customers is the highest, safest quality possible

In working with our customers, we’re finding that most are compliant with about half of the 110 controls necessary to meet NIST 800-171. It seems like a lot of controls, but becoming compliant isn’t just good for your company, it’s also good for your bottom line.

US Cloud’s Managed Security services are ready to work with you to safeguard your network and clouds, meeting the DFARS mandate:

• Risk Assessment: After we identify potential vulnerabilities, we can work with you on how to implement sound data breach prevention practices for securing your sensitive information through conducting due diligence and uncovering your true cyber risk profile and security posture.
• industry’s strongest tools for DDoS, SIEM, Endpoint, Firewall, WAF, IPS/IDS, Malware, and DLP protection.
• Deploy our Hyper Secure Cloud: Implement layered defense with our next-generation, military-encrypted stack. Need a more secure private cloud? Look no further than US Cloud.

Don’t let 2017 pass you by without making sure you are ready to tackle DFARS NIST 800-171 compliance. Contact us today to get a quote.