The deadline for defense contractors and subcontractors to implement the information security requirements listed in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 has come and gone. There are more than 100 information security requirements in NIST 800-171, and it is a good bet that many smaller companies without ample IT resources fall into the category of: “We missed the deadline… what now?”
If you want to continue working with the Department of Defense, the simple answer is you will have to be 800-171 compliant. This includes secure file sharing and information exchange governance, namely how you store, access, exchange and govern sensitive (but unclassified) information with the agency. And while the December 31, 2017, deadline was directed at DOD’s industry partners, NIST 800-171 applies to all non-federal organizations that work with U.S. government systems and data. So the suggestions below are in no way limited to defense contractors!
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