The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) released its draft Federal Zero Trust Strategy under President Biden’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity (No. 14028) (discussed previously here and
Continue Reading Moving to Zero Trust – CISA and OMB Seek Comments on Zero Trust Publications and Cloud Security Technical Reference Architecture under Cybersecurity Executive Order
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) is seeking comments on its draft NIST SP 800-160, Volume 2, Revision 1, “Developing Cyber-Resilient Systems: A Systems Security Engineering Approach,” and draft NIST SP 800-53A, Revision 5, “Assessing Security and Privacy Controls in Information Systems and Organizations.” The public comment periods currently are open and conclude on September 20, 2021 and October 1, 2021, respectively.
Continue Reading Double Time – NIST Seeks Comments on Major Revision to Practices for Developing Cyber-Resilient Systems (SP 800-160) and Assessing Security and Privacy Controls in Information Systems and Organizations (SP 800-53A)
The FedRAMP Program Management Office is seeking comments on its draft FedRAMP Authorization Boundary Guidance, Version 2.0, released on July 13, 2021. The public comment period currently is open and closes on September 13, 2021.
Continue Reading Watch Your Boundaries – FedRAMP Releases Draft Authorization Boundary Guidance for Public Comment
As called for in the May 12, 2021 Cybersecurity Executive Order (“EO”) released by the Biden Administration (discussed here), NIST met its deadline to release a definition of “critical software” within 45 days of the date of the Order. The determination of what constitutes “critical software” is a key step in the process set forth in the Order for securing the software supply chain, which will culminate sometime next year in new Federal Acquisition Regulations for contractors that supply software.
Continue Reading Right on Time – NIST Releases Definition of “Critical Software” Per Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order
In February 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14017, “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains” (discussed here), requiring (among other things) a report within 100-days requiring key government agencies to assess vulnerabilities and consider potential improvements to supply chains in four critical industries – (i) semiconductor manufacturing; (ii) high capacity batteries; (iii) rare earth elements; and (iv) pharmaceuticals.
Continue Reading At a Glance: White House 100-Day Supply Chain Report
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) is seeking comments on its draft NIST SP 800-161 Rev. 1, “Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations,” published on April 29, 2021. The public comment period currently is open and concludes on June 14, 2021. NIST anticipates releasing a second draft in September 2021, with a final version anticipated to be released by April 2022.
Continue Reading Seeking HoNIST Opinions – NIST Invites Comments on Major Revision to Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations (SP 800-161) and Provides Further Software Supply Chain Guidance
On May 12, 2021, the Biden Administration issued its much anticipated “Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.” Below are provisions we believe will be of most interest to contractors, as well as any company that provides information technology (“IT”) and operational technology (“OT”) services, cloud computing, software, or internet of things (“IoT”) technology, as the new regulations and standards called for in the Order are likely to have an impact beyond government contractors.
Continue Reading Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order
On February 24, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14017, “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains,” requiring a review of global supply chains that support key U.S. industries in an attempt to improve supply chain security for the U.S. government and U.S. companies. The new Executive Order appears to be an initial step focused on information gathering. Comprehensive reforms and supply chain strategies are likely to follow once the White House has collected key information.
Continue Reading Finding the Weak Links – President Biden Executive Order Demands Review of Critical U.S. Supply Chains
On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) (the “Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-283. The $740 billion defense
Continue Reading Key Provisions You Should Know From FY 2021 NDAA
On December 21, 2020, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) published a final rule in the Federal Register that codifies the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (“NISPOM”) in the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) at 32 CFR part 117. The rule will become effective on February 24, 2021, giving contractors six months from the effective date to comply with the changes. Comments on the proposed change are due by February 19, 2021.[1]
Continue Reading The NISPOM is Becoming a Regulation & Contractors Have Six Months to Comply
Legislation directing the National Institute of Standards and technology (“NIST”) to create standards and guidelines for securing Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices used by Federal agencies and their contractors recently passed the Senate and is heading to the President’s desk. We have been following this legislation closely for the past two years, here and here. The bill passed in the Senate without amendment by unanimous consent.
Continue Reading IoT Legislation Passes Congress