NIST PNT PROF I L E : A QUICK GUIDE

Identify systems dependent on PNT

Identify appropriate PNT sources

Detect disturbances and manipulation of PNT services

Manage the risk to these systems

How can my organization use it?

Organizations can apply this Foundational Profile to their own unique

missions, business environments, and technologies to create or refine a

security program that will include the responsible use of PNT services. The

PNT Profile was created by applying the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)

to help organizations:

What is it?

The NIST Foundational PNT Profile (NISTIR 8323) is a voluntary tool that can

help your organization increase its resilience through responsible use of PNT

services as described in Executive Order (EO) 13905, Strengthening National

Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation and Timing

Services.

What is Responsible Use?

The responsible use of PNT services is defined as the deliberate, riskinformed use of PNT services, including their acquisition, integration, and

deployment, such that disruption or manipulation of PNT services minimally

affects national security, the economy, public health, and the critical functions

of the Federal Government.

G e t t i n g S t a r t e d w i t h t h e

N I S T F o u n d a t i o n a l P o s i t i o n i n g ,

N a v i g a t i o n a n d T i m i n g ( P N T ) P r o f i l e

The following five key considerations are consistently seen

in the PNT profile document and merit strong attention:

Consider incorporating alternate PNT sources into the business architecture and ensure

the ability to fail over to these systems in the event of a disruption.

Consider performing activities to discover all devices to include PNT services and those

hosts that use PNT services. The use of PNT data may not be obvious.

Consider implementing procedures to detect PNT data manipulation, disruption or other

relevant cybersecurity events. Comparison of multiple complementary sources and

communication paths for position, navigation, or time may enable the detection of

manipulation of PNT services.

Consider developing policies, procedures, and plans to respond to a disruption or

manipulation of PNT services.

Consider developing recovery plans to restore systems affected by a PNT service

disruption or manipulation to a proper working state.
N I S T P N T PRO F I L E : A Q U I C K G U I D E

PAGE 2

Applying the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) to PNT Services

The Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) provides prioritized, flexible, risk-based, and

voluntary guidance, based on existing standards, guidelines, and practices, to help

organizations better understand, manage, and communicate cybersecurity risks.

The CSF is organized by five high-level functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond,

and Recover. These functions provide the basis to develop guidance on

cybersecurity risk management as applied to PNT services.

Identify all assets, including

applications dependent on PNT

data

Identify sources and

infrastructure that provide PNT

information

Identify the vulnerabilities,

threats, and impact should the

threat be realized to assess the

risk

ID

E

N

TIF

Y

Identify the business/operational

environment and organization’s

purpose

The Identify Function provides key

elements which should be given

strong consideration in this analysis.

Consideration of the threat

environment and the organization’s

purpose, assets, and vulnerabilities

will have a significant influence on

the overall risk.

 Objectives include:

Protect the systems forming,

transmitting, and using PNT data

to support the needed level of

integrity, availability and

confidentiality based on

application needs

Protect the deployment and use

of PNT services through

adherence to cybersecurity

principles, including

understanding the baseline

characteristics and application

The Protect Function includes the

development, implementation, and

verification measures to prevent loss

of functionality in the case of PNT

disruption or manipulation.

 Objectives include:

P

R

O

T

E

C

T

Protect users and applications

dependent on PNT data, should

a threat be realized, by enabling

users and applications to

maintain a sufficient level of

operations through verified

response and recovery plans

Protect organizations relying on

PNT services and data with

respect to business and

operational needs

 

tolerances of the PNT sources,

data, and any contextual

information, providing sufficient

resources, managing the

systems development life cycle,

as well as deploying needed

training, authorizations, and

access control

 

The Detect Function addresses the

development and deployment of the

appropriate activities to monitor for

anomalous events and notify

downstream users and applications.

Enabling detection through

monitoring and consistency

checking

Establishing a process for

deploying and handling detected

anomalies and events

 Objectives include:

D

E

T

E

C

T

Contain PNT events using a

verified response procedure

The Respond Function addresses

the development and

implementation of the appropriate

activities to respond to a detected

cybersecurity (and/or anomalous)

event. The activities in the Respond

Function support the ability to

contain the impacts of a potential

cybersecurity or anomalous event.

 Objectives include:

Communicate to PNT data users,

applications, and stakeholders

the occurrence and impact of

the event on PNT data

Develop processes to respond to

and mitigate new known or

anticipated threats and/or

vulnerabilities

Evolve response strategies and

plans based on lessons learned

R

E

S

P

O

N

D
Applying the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) to PNT Services

CONTINUED

The Recover Function develops and

implements the appropriate

activities to maintain plans for

resilience and restore any

capabilities or services that were

impaired due to a cybersecurity

event. The activities in the Recover

Function support timely recovery to

normal operations and return the

organization to its proper working

state after a disruption or

manipulation to PNT services has

occurred.

Bringing it all together.

The PNT Profile categories provide the information your organization needs

to undertake the process of managing risks against potential disruption and

manipulation of the PNT services, including networks and components that

transmit or use PNT data. Specifically, the “Applicability to PNT” column in

Section 4 of the PNT Profile contains the intended outcomes of responsible

PNT use. Mitigation measures are provided in the reference column to aid

each subcategory implementation.

N I S T P N T PRO F I L E : A Q U I C K G U I D E

PAGE 3

Restore systems dependent

upon PNT services to proper

working state using a verified

recovery procedure

Communicate to PNT data users,

applications, and stakeholders

the recovery activities and status

of the PNT services

Evolve recovery strategies and

plans based on lessons learned

 Objectives include:

R

E

C

O

V

E

R