Framework for Improving Critical
 

Infrastructure Cybersecurity
 

April 2016
 

cyberframework@nist.gov
 
 

• 

 

• 

 

 

 

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

Pre-Cybersecurity Framework Threat Landscape
 

• 79% of reported victims were 

targets of opportunity 

96% of reported attacks in 2012 

were NOT difficult 

85% of reported breaches took 

weeks or more to discover 

• 97% of reported breaches were 

avoidable through simple or 

intermediate controls 

Sta9s9cs are from	the 2012 Verizon Data Breach Inves9ga9ve Report	
 
Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

“It is the policy of the United States to enhance the security and resilience of the Nation’s 

critical infrastructure and to maintain a cyber 

environment that encourages efficiency, 

innovation, and economic prosperity while 

promoting safety, security, business confidentiality, privacy, and civil liberties” 

President Barack Obama 

Executive Order 13636, 12 February 2013

3 
Based on the Executive Order, the Cybersecurity 

Framework Must... 

• Include a set of standards, methodologies, procedures, 

and processes that align policy, business, and 

technological approaches to address cyber risks

• Provide a prioritized, flexible, repeatable, performancebased, and cost-effective approach, including information 

security measures and controls, to help owners and 

operators of critical infrastructure identify, assess, and 

manage cyber risk 

• Identify areas for improvement to be addressed through 

future collaboration with particular sectors and 

standards-developing organizations 

• Be consistent with voluntary international standards

4 
5 

Development of the Framework 

Engage the 

Framework 

Stakeholders 

Collect, 

Categorize, and 

Post RFI 

Responses 

Analyze RFI 

Responses 

Identify 

Framework 

Elements 

Prepare and 

Publish 

Framework 

EO 13636 Issued – February 12, 2013 

NIST Issues RFI – February 26, 2013 

1st Framework Workshop – April 03, 2013 

Completed – April 08, 2013 

Identify Common Practices/Themes – May 15, 2013 

2nd Framework Workshop at CMU – May 2013 

Draft Outline of Preliminary Framework – June 2013 

3rd Workshop at UCSD – July 2013 

4th Workshop at UT Dallas – Sept 2013 

5th Workshop at NC State – Nov 2013 

Published Framework – Feb 2014 

Ongoing Engagement: 

Open public comment 

and review encouraged 

and promoted 

throughout the 

process... 

and to this day 
The Cybersecurity Framework Is for Organizations... 

6 

• Of any size, in any sector in (and outside of) the critical infrastructure 

• That already have a mature cyber risk management and cybersecurity program 

• That don’t yet have a cyber risk management or cybersecurity program 

• With a mission of helping keep up-to-date on managing risk and facing 

business or societal threats 
Cybersecurity Framework Components 

Describes how cybersecurity 

risk is managed by an organization 

and degree the risk management 

practices exhibit key characteristics 

Aligns industry standards and 

best practices to the Framework 

Core in a particular 

implementation scenario 

Supports prioritization and 

measurement while 

factoring in business 

needs 

Cybersecurity activities and 

informative references, 

organized around particular 

outcomes 

Enables communication 

of cyber risk across an 

organization 

Framework 

Core 

Framework 

Implementation 

Tiers 

Framework 

Profile 

7 
Implementation Tiers 

Cybersecurity Framework Component

8 

• Allow for flexibility in implementation and bring in concepts of 

maturity models 

• Reflect how an organization implements the Framework Core 

functions and manages its risk 

• Progressive, ranging from Partial (Tier 1) to Adaptive (Tier 4), 

with each Tier building on the previous Tier 

• Characteristics are defined at the organizational level and are 

applied to the Framework Core to determine how a category is 

implemented. 

None	

Par)al	 Repeatable	

Risk	

Informed	

Adap)ve	
Implementation Tiers 

Cybersecurity Framework Component

9 

1	 2	 3	 4	

Par)al	 Risk	

Informed	

Repeatable	 Adap)ve	

Risk	

Management	

Process	

The	func)onality	and	repeatability	of	cybersecurity	risk	

management	

Integrated	Risk	

Management	

Program	

The	extent	to	which	cybersecurity	is	considered	in	broader	

risk	management	decisions	

External	

Par)cipa)on	

The	degree	to	which	the	organiza)on	benefits	my	sharing	or	

receiving	informa)on	from	outside	par)es	
Taxonomy	Value	Proposi)on	

Plant classification is the placing of known plants into groups 

or categories to show some relationship. 

Scientific classification follows a system of rules that 

standardizes the results, and groups successive categories 

into a hierarchy. 

For example, the family to which lilies belong is classified as: 

• Kingdom: Plantae

• Phylum: Magnoliophyta

• Class: Liliopsida

• Order: Liliales

• Family: Liliaceae

• Genus: ...... 

• Species: ...... 
Core 

Cybersecurity Framework Component 

Func)on Category ID	

What	processes	and	

assets	need	

protec)on?	

Iden)fy	

Asset	Management	 ID.AM	

Business	Environment	 ID.BE	

Governance	 ID.GV	

Risk	Assessment	 ID.RA	

Risk	Management	Strategy	 ID.RM	

What	safeguards	are	

available?	 Protect	

Access	Control	 PR.AC	

Awareness	and	Training	 PR.AT	

Data	Security	 PR.DS	

Informa)on	Protec)on	Processes	&	Procedures	 PR.IP	

Maintenance	 PR.MA	

Protec)ve	Technology	 PR.PT	

What	techniques	can	

iden)fy	incidents?	 Detect	

Anomalies	and	Events	 DE.AE	

Security	Con)nuous	Monitoring	 DE.CM	

Detec)on	Processes	 DE.DP	

What	techniques	can	

contain	impacts	of	

incidents?	

Respond	

Response	Planning	 RS.RP	

Communica)ons	 RS.CO	

Analysis	 RS.AN	

Mi)ga)on	 RS.MI	

Improvements	 RS.IM	

What	techniques	can	

restore	capabili)es?	 Recover	

Recovery	Planning	 RC.RP	

Improvements	 RC.IM	

Communica)ons	 RC.CO	

11 
Core 

Cybersecurity Framework Component 

12 

Func)on Category ID	

Iden)fy	

Asset	Management	 ID.AM	

Business	Environment	 ID.BE	

Governance	 ID.GV	

Risk	Assessment	 ID.RA	

Risk	Management	

Strategy	 ID.RM	

Protect	

Access	Control	 PR.AC	

Awareness	and	Training	 PR.AT	

Data	Security	 PR.DS	

Informa)on	Protec)on	

Processes	&	Procedures	 PR.IP	

Maintenance	 PR.MA	

Protec)ve	Technology	 PR.PT	

Detect	

Anomalies	and	Events	 DE.AE	

Security	Con)nuous	

Monitoring	 DE.CM	

Detec)on	Processes	 DE.DP	

Respond	

Response	Planning	 RS.RP	

Communica)ons	 RS.CO	

Analysis	 RS.AN	

Mi)ga)on	 RS.MI	

Improvements	 RS.IM	

Recover	

Recovery	Planning	 RC.RP	

Improvements	 RC.IM	

Communica)ons	 RC.CO	

Subcategory Informative References

ID.BE-1:	The	

organiza)on’s	role	in	

the	supply	chain	is	

iden)fied	and	

communicated

COBIT	5	APO08.04,	APO08.05,	

APO10.03,	APO10.04,	APO10.05	

ISO/IEC	27001:2013	A.15.1.3,	A.

15.2.1,	A.15.2.2	

NIST	SP	800-53	Rev.	4	CP-2,	SA-12	

ID.BE-2:	The	

organiza)on’s	place	in	

cri)cal	infrastructure	

and	its	industry	sector	

is	iden)fied	and	

communicated

COBIT	5	APO02.06,	APO03.01	

NIST	SP	800-53	Rev.	4	PM-8	

ID.BE-3:	Priori)es	for	

organiza)onal	

mission,	objec)ves,	

and	ac)vi)es	are	

established	and	

communicated	

COBIT	5	APO02.01,	APO02.06,	

APO03.01	

ISA	62443-2-1:2009	4.2.2.1,	

4.2.3.6	

NIST	SP	800-53	Rev.	4	PM-11,	

SA-14	

ID.BE-4:	

Dependencies	and	

cri)cal	func)ons	for	

delivery	of	cri)cal	

services	are	

established	

ISO/IEC	27001:2013	A.11.2.2,	A.

11.2.3,	A.12.1.3	

NIST	SP	800-53	Rev.	4	CP-8,	PE-9,	

PE-11,	PM-8,	SA-14	

ID.BE-5:	Resilience	

requirements	to	

support	delivery	of	

cri)cal	services	are	

established	

COBIT	5	DSS04.02	

ISO/IEC	27001:2013	A.11.1.4,	A.

17.1.1,	A.17.1.2,	A.17.2.1	

NIST	SP	800-53	Rev.	4	CP-2,	

CP-11,	SA-14	 12 
Profile 

Cybersecurity Framework Component

13 

Iden)fy	

Protect	

Detect	

Respond	

Recover	

Ways	to	think	about	a	Profile:	

• A	customiza)on	of	the	Core	for	a	

given	sector,	subsector,	or	

organiza)on	

• A	fusion	of	business/mission	logic	

and	cybersecurity	outcomes	

• An	alignment	of	cybersecurity	requirements	with	

opera)onal	methodologies	

• A	basis	for	assessment	and	expressing	target	state	

• A	decision	support	tool	for	cybersecurity	risk	

management	
Building a Profile 

A Profile Can be Created in Three Steps 

14 

Subcategory 

1	

2	

3	

...	

98	

Mission 

Priority Objective 

1	 A	

2	 B	

3	 C	

Cybersecurity	

Requirements	

Legisla)on	

Regula)on	

Internal	&	External	Policy	

Best	Prac)ce	

Opera)ng	

Methodologies	

Guidance	and	methodology	

on	implemen)ng,	

managing,	and	

monitoring	

1	

2	 3	
Supporting Risk Management with Framework

15	
Key Attributes 

• It’s a framework, not a prescription 

• It provides a common language and systematic methodology for 

managing cyber risk 

• It is meant to be adapted 

• It does not tell a company how much cyber risk is tolerable, nor 

does it claim to provide “the one and only” formula for cybersecurity 

• Having a common lexicon to enable action across a very diverse set 

of stakeholders will enable the best practices of elite companies to 

become standard practices for everyone 

• The framework is a living document

• It is intended to be updated over time as stakeholders learn from 

implementation, and as technology and risks change 

• That’s one reason why the framework focuses on questions an 

organization needs to ask itself to manage its risk. While practices, 

technology, and standards will change over time—principals will not 

16 
Where Should I Start? 

17 

Framework Version 1.0, Section 3.2, Step 1: 

Prioritize and Scope. The organization identifies its 

business/mission objectives and high-level 

organizational priorities. With this information, the 

organization makes strategic decisions regarding 

cybersecurity implementations and determines the 

scope of systems and assets that support the selected 

business line or process. The Framework can be 

adapted to support the different business lines or 

processes within an organization, which may have 

different business needs and associated risk tolerance. 

(2b) Risk Management Strategy 

(ID.RM): The organization’s priorities, 

constraints, risk tolerances, and 

assumptions are established and used to 

support operational risk decisions.

(1) Business Environment (ID.BE): The 

organization’s mission, objectives, 

stakeholders, and activities are understood 

and prioritized; this information is used to 

inform cybersecurity roles, responsibilities, 

and risk management decisions.

(2a) Governance (ID.GV): The policies, 

procedures, and processes to manage and 

monitor the organization’s regulatory, legal, 

risk, environmental, and operational 

requirements are understood and inform the 

management of cybersecurity risk

Operate	&	Maintain	
Industry Use 

The Framework is designed to complement existing business and 

cybersecurity operations, and has been used to: 

• Self-Assessment, Gap Analysis, Budget & Resourcing Decisions 

• Standardizing Communication Between Business Units 

• Harmonize Security Operations with Audit 

• Communicate Requirements with Partners and Suppliers 

• Describe Applicability of Products and Services 

• Identify Opportunities for New or Revised Standards 

• Categorize College Course Catalogs 

• As a Part of Cybersecurity Certifications 

• Categorize and Organize Requests for Proposal Responses 

• Consistent dialog, both within and amongst countries 

• Common platform on which to innovate, by identifying market 

opportunities where tools and capabilities may not exist today 

18 
Framework – One Year After Release 

6th Cybersecurity Framework Workshop 

Goal: Raise awareness, encourage use as a 

tool, highlight examples of sector-specific efforts, 

implementation efforts, gather feedback Florida Center for 

Oct. 29-30, 2014 

Cybersecurity 

Update on the Cybersecurity Framework 

Summary posted that includes analysis of RFI 

responses, feedback from the 6th workshop, an 

update on Roadmap areas, and next steps December 5, 2014 

Request for Information: Experience with 

the Cybersecurity Framework 

Questions focused on: awareness, experiences, and 

roadmap areas August 26, 2014 

1 Year Anniversary of the Release 

NIST Cybersecurity Framework site update to 

include: FAQs, Upcoming Events, and Industry 

Resources. Ongoing, targeted outreach continues February 12, 2015 

February 13, 2015 

White House Releases 

Fact Sheet on Cybersecurity 

and Consumer Protection
Examples of Industry Resources 

The Cybersecurity Framework 

 in Action: An Intel Use Case

Energy Sector Cybersecurity Framework 

Implementation Guidance

Cybersecurity Guidance 

for Small Firms

Cybersecurity	Risk	Management	and	Best	Prac)ces	

Working	Group	4:	Final	Report

20 
Examples of U.S. State & Local Use 

21 

Texas, Department of Information Resources

• Aligned Agency Security Plans with Framework 

• Aligned Product and Service Vendor Requirements with Framework 

Houston, Greater Houston Partnership

• Integrated Framework into their Cybersecurity Guide 

• Offer On-Line Framework Self-Assessment 

North Dakota, Information Technology Department • Allocated Roles & Responsibilities using Framework 

• Adopted the Framework into their Security Operation Strategy 

National Association of State CIOs

• 2 out of 3 CIOs from the 2015 NASCIO Awards cited 

Framework as a part of their award-winning strategy 

New Jersey 

• Developed a cybersecurity framework that aligns controls and 

procedures with Framework 
Framework Roadmap Items 

Authentication 

Automated Indicator Sharing 

Conformity Assessment 

Cybersecurity Workforce 

Data Analytics 

Federal Agency Cybersecurity Alignment 

International Aspects, Impacts, and Alignment 

Supply Chain Risk Management 

Technical Privacy Standards 22 
Framework Roadmap Items 

Authentication 

Automated Indicator Sharing 

Conformity Assessment 

Cybersecurity Workforce 

Data Analytics 

Federal Agency Cybersecurity Alignment 

International Aspects, Impacts, and Alignment 

Supply Chain Risk Management 

Technical Privacy Standards 23 
FIPS - Federal Information Processing Standards 

§ FIPS 199 – Standards for Security Categorization 

§ FIPS 200 – Minimum Security Requirements 

SPs – Special Publications 

§ SP 800-18 – Guide for System Security Plan development 

§ SP 800-30 – Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments 

§ SP 800-34 – Guide for Contingency Plan development 

§ SP 800-37 – Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework 

§ SP 800-39 – Managing Information Security Risk 

§ SP 800-53/53A – Security controls catalog/assessment procedures 

§ SP 800-60 – Mapping Information Types to Security Categories 

§ SP 800-128 – Security-focused Configuration Management 

§ SP 800-137 – Information Security Continuous Monitoring 

§ Many others for operational and technical implementations 

Standards/Guidelines for FISMA & RM 
Recent Framework Related Policy and Legislation 

25 

Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 

• Codified NIST’s on-going role facilitating Framework evolution 

• Asked NIST to facilitate less redundancies in regulation 

OMB Memorandum M-16-03 & 04 • M-16-03: FY 2015-16 Guidance on Federal Information Security and 

Privacy Management Requirements 

• M-16-04: Cybersecurity Strategy and Implementation Plan 

Circular A-130 Update 

• Provides generalized guidance for use of pre-existing FISMA-based 

guidance like Risk Management Framework with Cybersecurity Framework 

• NIST publishing guidance on using Risk Management Framework and 

Cybersecurity Framework together 
26 

CSF	Core	 customize	 CSF	Profile	

Tailoring SP 800-53 Security Controls 

Use Case #3 for Risk Management Framework & Cybersecurity Framework 
Framework Roadmap Items 

Authentication 

Automated Indicator Sharing 

Conformity Assessment 

Cybersecurity Workforce 

Data Analytics 

Federal Agency Cybersecurity Alignment 

International Aspects, Impacts, and Alignment 

Supply Chain Risk Management 

Technical Privacy Standards 27 
International Dialogs 

Twenty eight (28) countries have participated in 

discussion with NIST, including dialog with: 

• The European Union, and 14 out of 28 

Member States 

• 4 out of 5 of the Five Eyes 

• 6 countries in Asia 

• 5 countries in the Middle East 

28 
Emerging International Use - Italy 

Italy’s National Framework for Cybersecurity: 

• http://www.cybersecurityframework.it/

• Adopted 100% of the NIST Cybersecurity 

Framework 

• Extended NIST Cybersecurity Framework 

• Created with industry and academia 

• Published in both Italian and English 

29 
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Web 

site is available at http://www.nist.gov

NIST Computer Security Division Computer Security 

Resource Center is available at http://csrc.nist.gov/

The Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 

Cybersecurity and related news and information are 

available at www.nist.gov/cyberframework 

For additional Framework info and help 

cyberframework@nist.gov 

Resources 

Where to Learn More and Stay Current