NIST CSF 2.0 Consulting Service

Cyber Security Risk Management, Gap Analysis and Cyber Security Maturity Consulting With NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0

Cyber security is no longer a matter of deploying security technologies such as firewalls, antivirus, EDR or SIEM.

Ransomware, data breaches, credential compromise, supply chain attacks, cloud security risks, third-party access, insider threats and critical system outages have made cyber security an inseparable part of enterprise risk management.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework – NIST CSF, one of the most widely used cyber security risk management approaches in the world, provides organisations with a strong framework for managing cyber security systematically, measurably and on a risk basis.

SecureSys provides end-to-end NIST CSF consulting to help organisations assess their NIST CSF 2.0 compliance level, determine their current cyber security maturity, identify their gaps and build an applicable roadmap for reaching the target security level.

Our NIST CSF consulting approach does not rest on filling in checklists.

The organisation's:

• Cyber security governance,
• Risk management,
• Asset management,
• Identity and access management,
• Data security,
• Network security,
• Endpoint security,
• Cloud security,
• Vulnerability management,
• Security monitoring,
• SOC processes,
• Incident response,
• Business continuity,
• Disaster recovery,
• Supplier security,
• Third-party risk

are assessed as a whole.

The aim is not merely to be able to say "we comply with NIST CSF", but to build a sustainable cyber security management model that reduces the organisation's real cyber risks and that management can measure.

What Is NIST CSF?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework – NIST CSF is a risk-based cyber security framework developed to help organisations understand, assess, prioritise and manage their cyber security risks.

NIST CSF was developed by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology – NIST.

Originally developed to help manage the cyber security risks of critical infrastructure, the framework has over time come to be used by organisations of different sectors and sizes.

The current version, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, addresses cyber security risk management through six core functions:

GOVERN – IDENTIFY – PROTECT – DETECT – RESPOND – RECOVER

These six functions make the organisation's cyber security risk management lifecycle visible and manageable at a high level.

NIST CSF is not a product, a security technology or a mandatory certification standard.

The framework shows organisations which cyber security outcomes should be targeted, but it does not mandate the technology or method by which those outcomes are to be reached.

This makes NIST CSF an extremely flexible security management framework.

What Is NIST CSF 2.0?

NIST CSF 2.0 is the updated and broadened version of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

With CSF 2.0, the framework has been taken beyond its perceived focus on critical infrastructure and positioned explicitly for application by organisations of every size and sector.

One of the most significant changes in NIST CSF 2.0 is the addition of the new GOVERN function.

The six core functions of NIST CSF are therefore now:

• GOVERN
• IDENTIFY
• PROTECT
• DETECT
• RESPOND
• RECOVER

This structure makes clear that cyber security is not the responsibility of technical teams alone.

Cyber security has to be managed together with:

management, people, process, technology, budget, risk appetite, supply chain and business continuity

What Is NIST CSF Consulting?

NIST CSF consulting is the process of assessing an organisation's existing cyber security structure under NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, exposing its strong and weak areas, and preparing a roadmap for reaching the target cyber security level.

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting begins by focusing on understanding the organisation's current position.

No two organisations have the same cyber security needs.

The risk profile of a financial institution differs from that of a manufacturing company, a public institution, a technology firm or an e-commerce company.

Rather than using a standard checklist, NIST CSF implementation therefore assesses the organisation's:

business processes + critical assets + threats + existing security controls + risk appetite

together.

The Six Core Functions of NIST CSF 2.0

NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 organises cyber security risk under six main functions.

These functions are not independent of one another.

They form a continuously operating cyber security management cycle.

1. GOVERN – Cyber Security Governance

One of the most important innovations in NIST CSF 2.0 is the GOVERN function.

The govern function addresses how the organisation's cyber security risk management strategy is established, managed and monitored.

Cyber security is not the responsibility of the CISO or the IT team alone.

Senior management has to:

• Understand the cyber security risks,
• Relate them to enterprise risk,
• Define roles and responsibilities,
• Establish policies and strategy,
• Manage supply chain risk,
• Provide the necessary resources

The SecureSys NIST CSF govern assessment examines the organisation's cyber security governance model.

It assesses in particular cyber security policies, management responsibilities, the risk management approach, risk appetite, regulatory requirements, third-party management, supplier security and cyber security performance indicators.

2. IDENTIFY – Identifying Assets and Risks

If an organisation does not know the assets it holds, protecting them effectively is impossible.

The IDENTIFY function focuses on the organisation understanding its assets, business processes, dependencies and cyber security risks.

This covers:

• Hardware assets,
• Software assets,
• Servers,
• Network devices,
• Endpoint systems,
• Cloud services,
• User accounts,
• Data assets,
• Critical business processes,
• Third-party services

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting analyses the organisation's existing asset inventory approach.

Missing or uncontrolled assets create significant attack surface for attackers.

Forgotten internet services, legacy VPN systems, unsupported operating systems or unknown cloud services can all create serious risk.

Cyber Security Risk Assessment

The fundamental approach of NIST CSF is risk-based.

Which risks are priorities therefore has to be established before technical controls are applied.

NIST CSF risk assessments carried out by SecureSys evaluate the relationship:

Asset → Threat → Vulnerability → Existing Control → Likelihood → Impact → Risk

Risks can be classified as:

Critical – High – Medium – Low

This allows the organisation to plan its cyber security investment starting from the highest risks.

3. PROTECT

The PROTECT function addresses the security controls for protecting critical systems and data against cyber attack.

This function is broad in scope.

The SecureSys assessment can examine the following areas:

Identity and access management

User accounts, privileged accounts and access permissions are assessed.

Zero Trust, MFA, PAM and least privilege are important control areas.

Data security

The processes for creating, storing, processing, transferring and destroying critical data are assessed.

Data classification, DLP, encryption and access control mechanisms can be addressed here.

Endpoint security

For user computers and servers, EDR, XDR, antivirus, hardening, application control and patch management controls are assessed.

Network security

Firewalls, network segmentation, IDS/IPS, NAC, VPN and Zero Trust Network Access controls are addressed.

Cloud security

The IAM, network, storage, configuration and logging security structures of AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and SaaS environments are assessed.

MFA and Identity Security

A significant proportion of modern attacks aim to compromise user accounts rather than exploit a technical vulnerability directly.

Phishing, credential stuffing, password spraying and infostealer malware can all put user passwords into attackers' hands.

Identity security is therefore extremely important under NIST CSF.

The SecureSys assessment can examine:

• MFA adoption,
• Privileged accounts,
• Use of shared accounts,
• Dormant accounts,
• Service accounts,
• Password policies,
• Conditional access,
• Privileged access management

Vulnerability Management

One of the most important technical processes in NIST CSF consulting is vulnerability management.

Vulnerability management is not running a vulnerability scanner once a year.

Effective vulnerability management rests on the cycle:

Discover → Scan → Validate → Rate the Risk → Prioritise → Remediate → Retest → Report

SecureSys can build a vulnerability management model for internet-facing assets, internal network systems, web applications, APIs, cloud systems and other critical infrastructure.

Patch Management

Out-of-date software is one of the most significant entry points for cyber attack.

Not every patch needs to be applied at the same priority, however.

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting assesses the patch management process together with factors such as criticality, CVSS, exploitability, internet accessibility, system criticality and vendor guidance.

The aim is not simply to say "patches are applied" but to build a genuinely risk-focused patch management system.

4. DETECT

However strong the security measures an organisation applies, preventing every attack entirely may not be possible.

An attack therefore has to be detected at the earliest possible stage.

The DETECT function focuses on making security events visible.

The following capabilities can be assessed:

• Log management,
• SIEM,
• SOC,
• EDR,
• XDR,
• NDR,
• IDS/IPS,
• Threat intelligence,
• UEBA,
• Detection engineering

SIEM and Log Management

Collecting logs and monitoring security are not the same thing.

Collecting logs from thousands of systems does not on its own mean an attack has been detected.

Effective SIEM management requires the identification of critical log sources, the creation of the right use cases, correlation rules, alert prioritisation and continuous tuning.

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting assesses the organisation's SIEM and SOC structure and analyses:

which logs are collected, which attack scenarios can be monitored, and how alerts are managed

SOC Maturity Assessment

The existence of a SOC does not on its own mean high security maturity.

SecureSys can assess:

• SOC L1/L2/L3 role distribution,
• Alert management,
• Incident escalation,
• Threat hunting,
• Detection rule management,
• Playbook usage,
• SOAR integration,
• SLA and KPI structure

This reveals the organisation's real security operations capability.

5. RESPOND

When a security incident occurs, the decisions taken in the first hours can directly determine its impact.

The RESPOND function addresses how security incidents are responded to.

Organisations need to classify incidents, inform the right people, contain the attack, block the attacker's access and establish the root cause.

SecureSys consulting supports the development of a cyber incident response plan.

Incident Response Plan

An incident response plan tailored to the organisation can define:

• Incident classification,
• Roles and responsibilities,
• Escalation procedures,
• Communication plan,
• Technical containment,
• Evidence collection,
• Eradication,
• Recovery,
• Post-incident review

This means the question "what do we do?" has been answered before the attack happens.

Ransomware Response

Ransomware is one of the most critical cyber security risks today.

In ransomware attacks, attackers may do more than encrypt files.

Beforehand, they can steal credentials, obtain Active Directory privileges, delete backup systems and exfiltrate critical data.

Ransomware readiness is therefore not a matter of using antivirus or EDR.

In the NIST CSF approach, ransomware risk concerns all of the functions:

Govern + Identify + Protect + Detect + Respond + Recover

6. RECOVER

Restoring systems to secure operation after an attack matters as much as preventing the attack.

The RECOVER function focuses on business continuity, recovery plans and the processes for returning systems to normal.

The SecureSys assessment can examine backup infrastructure, disaster recovery, recovery procedures, communication plans and crisis management processes.

Backup Security

Having a backup does not mean the backup works.

In modern ransomware attacks, backup infrastructure is one of the attackers' first targets.

The following are therefore important security controls:

• Immutable backup,
• Offline backup,
• MFA,
• Separate admin accounts,
• Network segmentation,
• Backup encryption,
• Restore testing

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting assesses not only whether a backup exists but whether it would genuinely be usable during an attack.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery should not be thought of only in terms of physically losing a data centre.

A ransomware attack can also create a wide-ranging disaster recovery need.

The values of:

RTO – recovery time objective

and

RPO – recovery point objective

should therefore be assessed together with the business units.

The order in which critical services will be brought back up has to be defined in advance.

What Is a NIST CSF Gap Analysis?

A NIST CSF gap analysis compares an organisation's existing cyber security practice against the requirements of NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0.

The aim is to expose the differences between the current state and the target state.

The NIST CSF gap analysis carried out by SecureSys examines existing policies and procedures, technical controls, security products, operational processes, human resources and the security organisation.

The current state is assessed for each area and the points needing development are identified.

NIST CSF Current and Target Profiles

One of the strongest features of NIST CSF is the current profile and target profile approach.

The current profile shows where the organisation is today.

The target profile expresses the cyber security position it intends to reach.

Comparing the two profiles reveals the gap.

MFA may currently be used only by administrators, for example.

The target profile may aim for MFA across all critical applications.

The difference is the action to be applied.

This approach makes cyber security investment considerably easier for management to understand.

NIST CSF Implementation Tiers

Implementation tiers can be used under NIST CSF to express an organisation's cyber security risk management approach.

There are four tiers.

Tier 1 – Partial

Cyber security processes are largely irregular and reactive.

Tier 2 – Risk Informed

There is awareness of the risks, but practice may not be fully standardised across the organisation.

Tier 3 – Repeatable

Policies, processes and practices have become defined and repeatable.

Tier 4 – Adaptive

Cyber security risk management is integrated into the organisation's culture and improved continuously in line with changing threats.

The aim is not for every organisation to reach Tier 4.

The target tier should be set according to the organisation's business structure, threat profile and risk appetite.

NIST CSF Maturity Assessment

In the SecureSys consulting approach, NIST CSF controls are not assessed simply as "present / absent".

Whether a security control is genuinely effective is also examined.

Having a SIEM does not automatically mean high security maturity.

Whether critical logs are being sent to the SIEM, whether the use cases are current, whether alert SLAs are tracked and how effective the SOC team is all have to be assessed.

The NIST CSF maturity assessment is therefore carried out in a way that reflects technical reality.

How Does the NIST CSF Compliance Process Work?

SecureSys NIST CSF consulting projects generally consist of the following stages.

1. Project scoping

The organisation, systems, locations and business units are identified.

2. Documentation review

Existing policies, procedures, risk reports and security documentation are assessed.

3. Technical current-state analysis

Network, endpoint, IAM, SIEM, SOC, backup, cloud and other security structures are assessed.

4. NIST CSF gap analysis

The existing controls are mapped to the NIST CSF 2.0 structure.

5. Building the current profile

The organisation's current cyber security position is established.

6. Risk assessment

The critical cyber risks are identified.

7. Building the target profile

The target security level is defined.

8. Gap identification

The differences between the current and target profiles are established.

9. Action plan

Technical and managerial actions are defined.

10. Prioritisation

The actions are ordered by risk and business impact.

11. Implementation support

Support is provided in applying the policies, processes and technical controls.

12. Reassessment

Cyber security maturity is measured again after implementation.

NIST CSF Consulting Deliverables

Depending on project scope, SecureSys can prepare the following:

• NIST CSF 2.0 Gap Analysis Report
• NIST CSF Current Profile
• NIST CSF Target Profile
• Cyber Security Maturity Report
• Cyber Risk Assessment Report
• Risk Treatment Plan
• Cyber Security Roadmap
• Executive Summary Report
• Asset Management Assessment
• IAM Analysis
• Network Security Analysis
• Endpoint Security Analysis
• SIEM/SOC Maturity Assessment
• Vulnerability Management Analysis
• Incident Response Plan
• Backup and Recovery Analysis
• Third-Party Risk Assessment
• Supply Chain Security Analysis
• Cloud Security Assessment
• Cyber Security KPI and KRI Recommendations
• Continuous Improvement Plan

What Is the Difference Between NIST CSF and ISO 27001?

NIST CSF and ISO/IEC 27001 do not have to be alternatives to one another.

The two approaches can complement each other.

ISO/IEC 27001 is an international management system standard for establishing an Information Security Management System and for the certification process.

NIST CSF is a flexible risk management framework for understanding and managing cyber security risk.

One of the advantages of NIST CSF is that it makes technical cyber security processes easier for management to understand.

The govern, identify, protect, detect, respond and recover structure works very effectively in management presentations.

The Difference Between NIST CSF and NIST 800-53

NIST CSF focuses on high-level cyber security outcomes and risk management structure.

NIST SP 800-53 contains far more detailed security and privacy controls for information systems and organisations.

Put simply:

NIST CSF = what do we need to achieve?

NIST 800-53 = which detailed controls can be used?

Organisations can use NIST CSF as their main management framework while mapping detailed technical controls to NIST SP 800-53 and other standards.

NIST CSF and CIS Controls

CIS Controls provide a strong structure for applicable technical and operational security controls.

NIST CSF organises cyber security risk management at a higher level.

The two approaches can therefore be used together.

The technical controls within CIS Controls can be used, for example, to implement a security objective defined under NIST CSF.

NIST CSF and Zero Trust

Zero Trust is not an alternative to NIST CSF.

NIST CSF is an enterprise cyber security risk management framework.

Zero Trust is a security architecture based, particularly for access security, on the principle:

never trust, always verify

Zero Trust architecture can be used as a strong security approach within the NIST CSF protect function.

NIST CSF and Active Directory Security

Active Directory is one of the most critical systems in many organisations.

An attacker gaining Domain Admin privilege can reach a large number of systems within the organisation.

Active Directory security can therefore be related to all of the govern, identify, protect, detect and respond functions under NIST CSF.

The SecureSys assessment can examine privileged accounts, Domain Admin usage, dormant accounts, service accounts, legacy authentication, MFA, the tiering model and logging processes.

NIST CSF and Cloud Security

Organisations' infrastructure is becoming increasingly hybrid.

The use of Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and SaaS services introduces new security risks.

NIST CSF can also be applied to cloud systems.

The following can be assessed:

• Cloud asset inventory
• Cloud IAM
• Security configuration
• Logging
• Storage security
• Encryption
• Network security
• Backup
• Incident response

NIST CSF and Supply Chain Security

An organisation's security is not only as strong as its own systems.

Service providers, software vendors, cloud providers and outsourcing firms all introduce new risk.

NIST CSF 2.0 treats supply chain cyber security risk management as an important area within governance.

SecureSys can assess supplier risk classification, contractual security clauses, access permissions, minimum security requirements and supplier monitoring processes.

Management Reporting With NIST CSF

One of the biggest problems technical security teams face is explaining cyber security risk to senior management correctly.

Technical statements such as:

"SIEM EPS is low."

"EDR coverage is 87%."

"There are 23 critical CVEs."

are not always meaningful enough for management.

NIST CSF allows technical findings to be translated into the format of:

business risk, potential impact, current state, target state and required investment

NIST CSF therefore helps establish a common language between technical security and management.

NIST CSF Executive Dashboard

Depending on the organisation's needs, SecureSys NIST CSF consulting can build a management-level cyber security dashboard approach.

Scores such as the following can be made easy for senior management to understand:

Govern: 70% Identify: 65% Protect: 78% Detect: 62% Respond: 55% Recover: 68%

Showing the overall score alone is not sufficient, however.

The critical risks and priority actions behind it also have to be present.

The Cyber Security Roadmap

A NIST CSF gap analysis can produce hundreds of actions.

Carrying them all out at once may not be realistic.

SecureSys can therefore group the actions as follows:

Quick wins

Actions that reduce risk quickly at low cost.

0–3 months

Short-term work reducing critical and high risks.

3–6 months

Technical infrastructure and process improvements.

6–12 months

More comprehensive architecture and security transformation projects.

Strategic

Long-term projects such as Zero Trust, SOC transformation, a new IAM architecture or large-scale network segmentation.

Who Is NIST CSF Suitable For?

NIST CSF can be applied in almost every sector.

The following in particular can benefit from the NIST CSF approach:

public institutions, banks, financial institutions, energy companies, the defence industry, technology companies, software firms, manufacturing companies, healthcare organisations, retail companies, e-commerce firms, telecommunications organisations, holding companies and critical infrastructure

Organisation size is not a barrier to using NIST CSF.

NIST states that CSF 2.0 is designed to be usable by organisations of different sizes and maturity levels.

Is There a NIST CSF Certificate?

NIST CSF is not a management system certification issued by NIST in the classic sense, as ISO 27001 is.

It is therefore not correct to say that "NIST issues a NIST CSF certificate".

Organisations can measure their compliance level against NIST CSF through gap analysis, maturity assessment, and current and target profile work.

This distinction should be expressed correctly, particularly in consulting and proposal processes.

Why Does NIST CSF Consulting Matter?

The greatest advantage of NIST CSF is that it does not assess cyber security in purely technological terms.

An organisation buying the best firewall does not mean it is secure.

The firewall may be misconfigured.

A SIEM may be deployed while nobody follows the alerts.

EDR may be deployed while 20% of the servers have no agent.

Backups may exist while a restore test has never been carried out.

This is exactly why NIST CSF matters.

The aim is to assess not the existence of security products but whether the cyber security outcomes are genuinely being achieved.

Why SecureSys for NIST CSF Consulting?

A NIST CSF assessment should not be carried out as a theoretical policy review.

The real security level only emerges when governance processes and technical infrastructure are assessed together.

In its NIST CSF consulting, SecureSys assesses the disciplines of:

GRC + cyber security + SOC + penetration testing + network security + IAM + cloud security + incident response

together.

This exposes both the security controls that appear in documentation but are not applied technically, and the security practices used technically but never tied to a corporate process.

Our approach is based on the model:

Measure → Identify the Risk → Prioritise → Improve → Verify → Measure Again

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NIST CSF?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a risk-based cyber security framework that helps organisations understand, assess, prioritise and manage their cyber security risks.

What is NIST CSF 2.0?

NIST CSF 2.0 is the current version of the Cybersecurity Framework and addresses cyber security management under six core functions: govern, identify, protect, detect, respond and recover.

What are the functions of NIST CSF 2.0?

The six functions of NIST CSF 2.0 are govern, identify, protect, detect, respond and recover.

What is govern in NIST CSF?

Govern is the function addressing the organisation's cyber security risk management strategy, policies, roles, supply chain risks and management responsibilities.

What is a NIST CSF gap analysis?

It is the comparison of an organisation's existing security structure against the NIST CSF requirements and the identification of the gaps.

What is a NIST CSF current profile?

It expresses the organisation's current cyber security position and the security outcomes it achieves.

What is a NIST CSF target profile?

It is the cyber security position the organisation intends to reach in line with its risks and business objectives.

What is a NIST CSF tier?

It is the approach expressing how systematic and mature an organisation's cyber security risk management practice is.

What are the NIST CSF tier levels?

There are four levels: Tier 1 Partial, Tier 2 Risk Informed, Tier 3 Repeatable and Tier 4 Adaptive.

Is there a NIST CSF certificate?

NIST CSF is not a classic management system certification issued by NIST, as ISO 27001 is. Organisations can carry out compliance and maturity assessments against NIST CSF.

Are NIST CSF and ISO 27001 the same?

No. ISO 27001 is a certifiable Information Security Management System standard. NIST CSF is a cyber security risk management framework. They can be used together.

Which sectors use NIST CSF?

It can be used across many sectors including finance, the public sector, energy, defence, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, telecommunications, retail and critical infrastructure.

Measure Your Cyber Security Maturity With NIST CSF 2.0

You cannot tell whether your cyber security investment is genuinely working by looking at the products you own.

The real question is this:

How ready is your organisation to manage a cyber attack?

Do you know all of your assets?

Do you measure your critical risks?

Are user permissions under control?

How quickly could you detect an attack?

Do you have a response plan for a ransomware attack?

Can your backups genuinely be restored?

Can you manage third-party access?

Can senior management measure cyber security risk?

The answers to these questions are the real indicator of your cyber security maturity.

Through its NIST CSF 2.0 consulting, NIST CSF gap analysis, cyber security maturity assessment, current profile, target profile, cyber risk analysis and cyber security roadmap services, SecureSys helps organisations measure their current position and reach their target security level.

See Your Current Security Level With a NIST CSF 2.0 Gap Analysis

Don't guess where to start with your cyber security investment.

Measure first. Then prioritise. Then strengthen your security.

Request a NIST CSF 2.0 Consulting and Gap Analysis Proposal

Assess your current cyber security level with the SecureSys team, identify your critical risks and build a NIST CSF 2.0 cyber security roadmap tailored to your organisation — get in touch.

Manage your cyber security through a measurable risk management model, not through products.