NIST Works to Drum Up Cyber Standards Support

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2013/03/nist-hits-party-circuit-drum-cyber-standards-support/61802/

By Aliya Sternstein
Nextgov.com
March 11, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has started visiting 
businesses to rally support for a nationwide cybersecurity program called for 
by a February executive order.

The Feb. 12 mandate directed NIST, a Commerce Department agency, to develop 
standard guidelines for protecting computer operations in key sectors. On 
Monday, at an industry briefing organized by law firm Venable LLP, government 
officials stressed the guidelines will not be performance standards. The 
protections, however, would become mandatory for certain companies under a 
White House legislative proposal, so the order has raised questions among 
lobbying groups.

A draft “cybersecurity framework” – the official term for the voluntary 
regulations -- is expected to be released by November, said Ari Schwartz, a 
Commerce senior policy adviser.  NIST has published a formal notice requesting 
input from businesses and scheduled a brainstorming workshop for April 3 in 
Gaithersburg, Md. Future meetings to solicit feedback will not all be held in 
the suburbs, Adam Sedgewick, NIST senior information technology policy advisor, 
assured the audience, which was watching remotely via Webcast and at Venable's 
Washington office.

About 300 individuals had registered for the April session as of Monday, a NIST 
spokeswoman said after the Venable briefing.

[...]

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