We manage all areas of NIST 800-218 compliance as your outsourced DevSecOps department so you don’t have to.
Our NIST 800-218 Security Program includes everything you need to meet NIST 800-218’s criteria items. This includes the following:
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-218 includes a collection of fundamental practices required for secure software development. This collection is known as the Secure Software Development Framework or SSDF.
Organizations are expected to integrate the SSDF into their existing software development practices. They must also express secure software development requirements to third-party suppliers and exclusively acquire software that meets the practices outlined in the SSDF.
How Did NIST 800-218 come to be?
In May 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.” This executive order included strategic cybersecurity objectives for Executive Branch agencies and their supply chains. It also featured directives for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish criteria and conditions for software security and include those as contract requirements in the Federal acquisition process starting in 2022.
On February 4, 2022, NIST published Special Publication (or SP) 800-218, titled “Secure Software Development Framework”. This document was issued to establish a set of high-level software development practices that organizations can integrate into their software development processes.
One of the primary drivers behind the Executive Order was to reduce the risk of supply chain attacks like the SolarWinds breach.
SolarWinds is a software company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company’s software, Orion, an IT performance monitoring system, was hacked in 2019 by a group known as Nobelium, which accessed its network systems. As a result, the data of thousands of customers.
This hack was one of the largest ever recorded. Over 30,000 organizations (including numerous local, state, and federal agencies) rely on the Orion network to manage IT resources. The breach, therefore, put extensive amounts of data at risk, both for organizations that used the software and those organizations’ customers/clients.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology set out to achieve the following goals when creating NIST 800-218:
“Shift security left,” meaning that security concerns will be addressed sooner and at more points within the software development lifecycle (SDLC)
Reduce the number of vulnerabilities present in released software
Reduce the potential impact of unknown vulnerabilities present in released software
Encourage good practices among software developers to reduce the potential for vulnerabilities in future product releases.
Support software buyers in their due diligence process and give them peace of mind knowing they’re investing in secure and compliant solutions
Compliance with NIST 800-218 matters, first and foremost, because it can help to prevent severe attacks like the SolarWinds breach.
There are other reasons to make compliance a priority, though, including the following:
To sell software to the United States Government, organizations must demonstrate compliance with NIST 800-218. Failure to comply could mean losing out on important and potentially lucrative government contracts.
Compliance with NIST 800-218 can give your organization a competitive advantage. If you’ve taken the time to ensure you abide by all the guidelines laid out in the document, you can stand out from other businesses in your
When you comply with NIST 800-218, you will experience the benefit of increased security and avoid the stress and added expenses associated with a data breach.
Organizations that sell critical software to departments of the United States government (local, state, or federal) are expected to comply with NIST 800-218.
Critical software is defined as software that has one or more components with at least one of these attributes (or has direct software dependencies upon them):
Runs with elevated privilege or manages privileges
Provides direct or privileged access to a networking or computing resource
Controls data access or operational technology
Performs a function critical to establishing trust
Operates with privileged access outside normal trust boundaries
These criteria apply to all software forms, such as standalone software and cloud-based software, that are purchased for or deployed in production systems or used for operational purposes.
NIST 800-218 consists of the following:
By implementing the four tasks outlined below, your organization will achieve 19 high-level outcomes
These practices identify lingering vulnerabilities, appropriately address them, and prevent similar ones from happening.
These are examples of potential tools, processes, and methods that can be used to implement a particular task.
These are references to similar/source controls from established frameworks like NIST SP 800-53 and ISO/IEC 27001.
Compliance with NIST 800-218 starts with these four primary practices, as well as the specific tasks included in each category. Here is a summary of the practices and some of the most noteworthy tasks associated with them.
Preparing your organization includes carrying out the following practices and tasks:
Identify, document, and maintain all security requirements for your organization’s software development infrastructures and processes. Communicate requirements to third parties that provide commercial software components to your organization.
Establish new roles and alter responsibilities for existing roles as needed Provide role-based training Periodically review employee proficiency and make adjustments to training as needed
Specify which tools and tool types that must be included in toolchains to mitigate identified risks
Track those criteria throughout the software development lifecycle. Define the criteria for software security checks
Separate and protect each environment involved in the software development lifecycle.
Safeguarding your software from security threats includes these practices and tasks:
Store all forms of code according to the principle of least privilege so only authorized personnel, tools, and services have access.
Software integrity verification information should be available to software acquirers.
Securely archive the necessary files and supporting data for each software release.
mplement the following practices and tasks to ensure your organization consistently produces well-secured software solutions
Use risk modeling to assess the software’s security risk.
Acquire and maintain well-secured software components. Create and sustain well-secured software components in-house.
Follow secure coding practices to meet the organization’s requirements.
Use compiler, interpreter, and build tools to improve executable security.
Perform the code review or analysis based on your organization’s secure coding standards. Record and triage issues as needed.
Scope the testing, design the tests, perform the testing, and document the results.
Define a secure baseline and determine how to configure each setting that affects security. Implement the default settings and document one for software administrators.
Ensure you are responding to vulnerabilities appropriately and effectively by carrying out these practices and tasks:
Review, analyze, and test the software code to identify or confirm previously undetected vulnerabilities. Establish a policy that addresses vulnerability disclosure and remediation.
Analyze each vulnerability, gathering sufficient information about risk to plan remediation.
Determine vulnerabilities’ root causes. Analyze root causes to identify patterns. Review the software for similar vulnerabilities.
Compliance with NIST 800-218 can be tricky, especially when you consider all the practices and tasks associated with it.
Fortunately, the Bluesteel team understands the importance of compliance with NIST 800-218, especially for organizations that develop and sell software solutions to government agencies, and can help ensure you’re abiding by all the guidelines included in this framework.
Do you need help making sure you’re compliant with NIST 800-171? Do you want a third-party organization to review your protocol and identify potential gaps? If so, Bluesteel Cybersecurity is here to assist.
With our compliance preparation services, we can help you ensure you’ve met every standard laid out in NIST 800-218 and can stand up to any security audit. Reach out today to learn more
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