What is a NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template?
A NIST CSF risk assessment template is a tool for determining how well a third-party vendor's security practices align with the standards of the updated Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This new template maps to the six core functions of the latest version of NIST CSF: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. Each core function has been designed to focus on a specific aspect of cybersecurity to help the organization streamline the complete lifecycle of security threat management, from detection through to recovery.
Compliance with NIST CSF is mandatory for all federal agencies and their supply chain members, who can use this NIST CSF risk assessment template to track compliance efforts. However, the framework can be tailored to any cybersecurity context, making this NIST CSF risk assessment template an option for any business hoping to decrease its risk of suffering a third-party breach.
The industry-agnostic nature of NIST CSF 2.0 makes this risk assessment template an essential tool in today's volatile third-party cyber threat landscape.
Key changes in version 2.0 of a NIST CSF risk assessment template.
The latest version of the framework has resulted in several modifications to a NIST CSF risk assessment template. The most notable changes are:
- Addition of a governance function: CSF 2.0 introduces a new "Govern" function to ensure robust oversight, accountability, and alignment of cybersecurity strategies with business objectives.
- Greater focus on supply chain risk management: Expanded guidelines for managing cybersecurity risks within the supply chain emphasize the importance of safeguarding third-party and vendor ecosystems.
- Clearer guidance and broader scope: NIST CSF version 2.0 applies to a broader industry range and includes simplified language to ensure accessibility for organizations with varied technical expertise.
- Focus on measurement and continuous improvement: The framework includes updates that promote continuous monitoring and data-driven assessments of cybersecurity practices.
Why is a NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template important?
There are multiple benefits to your organization leveraging a NIST CSF risk assessment template in its Third-Party Risk Management program:
- Streamlined risk management: A NIST CSF risk assessment template helps organizations follow a systematic and repeatable process for managing the complete lifecycle of third-party security risks.
- Vendor risk mitigation: For companies with a substantial vendor ecosystem, a NIST CSF risk assessment template ensures partners and suppliers maintain a standard of cybersecurity that significantly reduces the risk of third-party breaches.
- Compliance support: A NIST CSF risk assessment template could support compliance and alignment with other standards, such as HIPAA, FISMA, and the GDPR.
- Improved third-party risk visibility: By emphasizing continuous monioring, a NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template could improve awareness of emerging third-party security risks, supporting rapid management before exploitation by cybercriminals.
Components of a NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template
This downloadable NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment toolkit consists of the following components:
1. NIST CSF 2.0 security questionnaire template
A questionnaire is the foundation of every formal vendor risk assessment process, as it collects information about specific aspects of a vendor's cybersecurity practices. This toolkit contains an NIST CSF questionnaire template mapping to the six core functions of the latest version of the standard, version 2.0.
The questionnaire in this template is divided into two sections: one to be completed by the vendor receiving the questionnaire and the other to be completed internally based on the vendor's responses.
Vendor component of the questionnaire
For each questionnaire item, the vendor has two fields to complete:
- Question response: A response to each question being asked. Options are Yes,” “No,” or “Not Applicable.”
- Implementation details: An explanation of how controls associated with each question have been implemented.
Third-party vendors should always include implementation details, even for "No" or "NA" responses. In these circumstances, the vendor should provide a reason for their response choices.
Internal components of the NIST CSF questionnaire template
The internal component of the questionnaire is to be completed by the internal security team. This is where risk severity and risk treatment plans associated with each question are indicated.
Internal security teams have four fields to complete:
- Risk severity: The level of risk or potential impact on the business resulting from a vendor's response.
- Risk treatment: The level or urgency of a required risk mitigation response.
- Treatment plan details: An overview of risk mitigation responses required to suppress third-party risk exposures within the tolerance levels of a defined third-party risk appetite.
- Risk owner: The name of the internal employee assigned to oversee the entire risk treatment process.
2. NIST CSF 2.0 Risk assessment template
The other document in this toolkit is the NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template. A NIST CSF risk assessment template consolidates the findings of the completed NIST CSF questionnaire to form a basis of a risk treatment plan for the vendor being assessed. Once completed, the NIST CSF risk assessment template could also be provided to board members requesting visibility into the risk management plans of newly onboarded vendors, a likelihood for critical vendors handling the company's most sensiitve data.
A NIST CSF risk assessment template is sometimes called a NIST CSF risk assessment report template.
NIST CSF risk assessment template example
Here are examples of the main components of a NIST CSF risk assessment template.
Vendor overview and main objectives of the NIST CSF risk assessment template
This introductory section of the NIST CSF risk assessment template overviews the main objectives of the risk assessment, which could be to improve compliance with the standard or to reduce the risk of the evaluated vendor suffering a data breach.
2. Evidence referenced to complete the NIST CSF risk assessment template
This NIST CSF risk assessment template example lists all sources referenced to complete the assessment. This section is critical as it demonstrates the reliability of your risk findings and increases the chances of senior management supporting your risk treatment plans.
The questionnaire field is where you indicate the type of vendor questionnaire used to collect information about the vendor's security posture. If you're using this toolkit, the listed questionnaire should be the NIST CSF 2.0 questionnaire template.
Any other evidence sources are listed in the Additional Evidence table. These could include certifications, Trust and Security pages, or completed questionnaires mapping to other relevant standards.
3. Executive summary
The executive summary offers readers a concise overview of the report's findings and primary follow-up action plans. Completing the executive summary is crucial if this NIST CSF risk assessment template will be provided to board members and senior management.
4. Vendor background
The vendor background section of this NIST CSF risk assessment example provides an overview of the vendor's primary service offerings. It's good practice to map each listed third-party service to a specific business objective to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the third-party partnership.
Limiting your vendor network to those that are absolutely necessary for achieving key business objectives will keep your attack surface and, therefore, the overall risk of suffering a data breach minimal.
5. Assessment summary
In this NIST CSF risk assessment example, a vendor's security posture is evaluated across six cybersecurity categories:
- Security Policies and Processes
- Infrastructure and Asset Management
- Data Classification and Handling
- Application Security
- Risk Management
- Recovery and Response
Here is an example of the fields in the Security Policies and Processes category in the NIST CSF risk assessment template available in this toolkit: To the right, the number of detected risks across four severity levels are summarized to make the report easier to digest.
6. Key risks
This NIST CSF risk assessment template example ends with a list of all the risks discovered in the assessment. Readers preferring a quick summary of this report's findings would skip to this section.
Aim to order this list by risk severity, starting with the most critical.
How to Use this NIST CSF 2.0 risk assessment template toolkit
Follow this process to use this NIST risk assessment template to evaluate a vendor's alignment with the security expectations of NIST CSF 2.0.
- Understand the core functions of NIST CSF 2.0: Familiarize yourself with the six core functions—Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover—and how they apply to your specific Third-Party Risk Management objectives.
- Customize the NIST CSF questionnaire template (optional): If you're voluntarily aligning NIST CSF 2.0 to your TPRM program, not all questionnaires may be applicable to your cybersecurity strategy. If required, edit the questionnaire to focus on the specific aspect of cybersecurity that matters most to your business. This step isn't necessary since even seemingly irrelevant questions could provide helpful context to more relevant security aspects of the questionnaire.
- Distribute the NIST CSF questionnaire template: Send the questionnaire to all appropriate third-party vendors. Ensure that all respondents provide detailed implementation plans for their security controls.
- Review vendor responses: Complete the internal component of the questionnaire. Aim to identify gaps in alignment between a vendor's security practice and the standards of NIST CSF 2.0.
- Complete the NIST CSF risk assessment template: Based on the findings from the questionnaire, complete the NIST CSF risk assessment template. Define the vendor's current state of aligment and the risk treatments plans required to achieve an ideal alignment state.
- Continuously monitor the vendor: Implement risk treatment plans. Enroll the vendor in the continuous monitoring component of your TPRM program. This will allow you to track and promptly respond to emerging risks affecting alignment with NIST CSF 2.0.
