NIST updates privacy, security controls
A revision to the federal government’s foundational computer security guide, also applicable to and used in the private sector, is available.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published the fourth version of Special Publication 800-53, formally called Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. The controls are designed to be largely policy and technology neutral to an organization.
Revision 4 of SP 800-53 is the most extensive update since the publication was unveiled in 2005. It includes new security enhancements to reflect changes in IT risk covering mobile and cloud computing, insider threats, applications security, supply chain and advanced persistent threats, as well as eight new families of privacy controls.
“This publication provides a catalog of security and privacy controls for federal information systems and organizations, and a process for selecting controls to protect organizational operations,” according to the revision. “The security and privacy controls are customizable and implemented as part of an organization-wide process that manages information security and privacy risk.”
The new version of SP 800-53 is available here.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.