Cyberattacks are rising, and small to mid-sized businesses are increasingly being targeted. With limited resources, smaller businesses often find themselves vulnerable to attacks that can cause significant financial, operational, and reputational damage. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework offers a structured, accessible, and scalable approach to help these businesses protect their assets, comply with regulations and IT compliance standards, and ensure business continuity without needing enterprise-level budgets or resources.
The framework is built around six core functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover, and Govern. These functions provide a step-by-step guide to understanding and improving your organization's cybersecurity posture, regardless of size. Here’s how each function can benefit your business:
Function 1: Identify
Serving as the foundation of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the Identify function focuses on understanding exactly what you have that needs to be protected and determining your current level of cybersecurity risk.
Key Benefits
- Informed decision-making
- Improved risk management
- Reduced attack surface
- Improved compliance
How to Integrate the Identify Function
- Identify Assets: Document all network entry points, including servers, desktops, and mobile devices, along with the software and systems supporting them.
- Conduct a Risk Assessment: Perform a thorough assessment to identify any vulnerabilities and prioritize necessary improvements.
- Define Procedures and Responsibilities: Establish clear procedures and responsibilities within your cybersecurity response plan to ensure a quick, organized response to incidents.
Function 2: Protect
The Protect function focuses on safeguarding critical assets and reducing the risk of cyber threats by putting proactive defenses in place. It’s designed to help you avoid – or at least limit the impact of – a cybersecurity issue, mitigate risk, and ensure business continuity.
Key Benefits
- Improved risk management
- Enhanced data security
- Compliance and legal protection
- Operational continuity
How to Integrate the Protect Function
- Control Access: Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and regularly update access controls to prevent unauthorized access.
- Maximize Data Security: Encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest, classify data for protection, and ensure regular backups and recovery testing.
- Segment Your Network: Divide your network into secure segments, using firewalls and access control lists (ACLs) to limit movement within the network.
- Secure the Perimeter: Implement firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and regularly update security software to block malicious activity.
- Automate Security: Automate routine security tasks to improve efficiency and integrate tools for a more effective incident response.
Function 3: Detect
The Detect function focuses on identifying cybersecurity events and anomalies quickly, so you can minimize potential damage and disruption. Detect emphasizes utilizing processes and tools to continuously monitor your systems and user activities, enabling you to quickly spot threats.
Key Benefits
- Rapid threat identification
- Enhanced response readiness
- Cost-effective risk mitigation
- Compliance and customer trust
How to Integrate the Detect Function
- Continuous Security Monitoring: Deploy tools like intrusion detection systems (IDS)/intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms to monitor for threats in real time.
- Threat Intelligence Integration: Use threat intelligence feeds to analyze and correlate external and internal security data.
- Regular Testing and Validation: Conduct penetration testing and vulnerability scans to identify and address security gaps.
- Incident Response Planning: Develop and regularly test an incident response plan to minimize damage during security events.
- Employee Training: Provide security awareness training to reduce human error and encourage reporting of suspicious activity.
- Automation: Automate threat detection and response tasks using SOAR platforms and AI-driven tools.
Function 4: Respond
The Respond function concentrates on planning and practicing a series of actions your organization will take when a cybersecurity incident occurs. The goal is to ensure you’re equipped to contain the incident’s impact, mitigate its effects, and return to normal operations as quickly as possible
Key Benefits
- Minimized impact of cyber incidents
- Improved coordination and decision-making
- Preservation of business continuity
- Enhanced recovery and learning
How to Integrate the Respond Function
- Response planning: Create a detailed Incident Response Plan (IRP) that includes roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols to ensure a coordinated approach during an incident.
- Analysis: Use tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to investigate the cause and impact of incidents, conducting post-incident reviews to improve future responses.
- Reporting and communication: Develop a communication plan to ensure transparency, compliance, and trust during and after an incident. Automate reporting to streamline documentation.
- Mitigation: Quickly contain incidents using Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and threat intelligence and ensure your backup and recovery systems are ready to restore operations.
Function 5: Recover
The goal of the Recover function is to help you return to normal business as quickly as possible after a cybersecurity incident. It provides guidance for developing and implementing strategies that help minimize disruptions and continue operations, while building resilience.
Key Benefits
- Rapid restoration of operations
- Stronger customer trust
- Cost-effective recovery
- Continuous improvement and resilience
How to Integrate the Recover Function
- Initiate recovery plan execution: Be prepared to activate your recovery plan quickly to minimize disruptions. Mobilize teams and monitor recovery progress to ensure efficiency.
- Prioritize recovery actions: Identify critical systems and prioritize recovery efforts to focus on restoring key business functions first.
- Verify backup integrity: Regularly test backups to ensure they are complete and functional, ensuring smooth restoration during recovery.
- Confirm operations and documentation: Once recovery begins, verify that systems are functioning properly and complete necessary incident documentation.
- Communicate recovery progress: Keep stakeholders informed with regular updates on the recovery process, ensuring transparency and encouraging cooperation.
Function 6: Govern
The Govern function provides a “big picture” approach to cybersecurity. The function helps smaller companies give cybersecurity the priority it deserves and develop a governance model that aligns with business objectives, fosters accountability, and helps proactively manage risks.
Key Benefits
- Reduced risk
- Consistent compliance
- Enhanced decision-making
- Strengthened customer trust
How to Integrate the Govern Function
- Establish leadership commitment and accountability: Leadership must demonstrate clear commitment to cybersecurity, appoint a dedicated Cybersecurity Lead, and establish ongoing reviews and communication.
- Define and document cybersecurity roles and responsibilities: Create a “role map” that defines specific tasks and ensures everyone understands their role in managing security risks.
- Integrate cybersecurity with your business strategy: Align cybersecurity policies with your business objectives, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and security is integrated into daily operations.
- Align cybersecurity with overall risk management: Treat cybersecurity as part of your broader risk management strategy by conducting regular risk assessments and prioritizing potential risks based on impact.
- Emphasize continuous monitoring and improvement: Cybersecurity governance requires ongoing monitoring and adaptation to new threats. Regular assessments and employee training are key to staying ahead of evolving risks.
Ready to Strengthen Your Cybersecurity?
Download our full guide to dive deeper into the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and learn step-by-step how to implement it for your small to mid-sized business. Protect your assets, ensure business continuity, and build resilience against cyber threats.