The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0) is an international guide designed to help organizations manage and reduce cybersecurity risks in a structured and effective way.
Unlike other technical standards, the NIST CSF is flexible and applicable to any industry or business size, not just critical infrastructure. Its practical approach enables organizations to assess their maturity level, prioritize investments, and strengthen digital resilience without having to comply with rigid requirements.
The framework provides a common language that facilitates communication among technical, management, and compliance teams—helping to align cybersecurity with business strategy and objectives.
The Six Core Functions of NIST CSF 2.0
These functions represent the essential capabilities every organization should develop to protect its systems and data:
- Govern: defines the strategy, policies, and responsibilities for managing cybersecurity.
- Identify: helps understand organizational assets, risks, and vulnerabilities.
- Protect: establishes safeguards and preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of incidents.
- Detect: enables the identification and analysis of events that could impact security.
- Respond: guides how to contain and manage detected incidents.
- Recover: supports the restoration of operations and services after an incident.
A Flexible Framework for Continuous Improvement
The NIST CSF is built on two key components:
- Organizational Profiles, which reflect the company’s current and target cybersecurity posture.
- Tiers (maturity levels), which indicate the degree of risk management integration within the organization.
These elements allow organizations to measure progress, identify gaps, and plan improvements over time.
Rather than prescribing specific rules, the NIST CSF provides an adaptable roadmap tailored to each company’s resources, context, and mission. Its ultimate goal is to help organizations continuously enhance their digital resilience.