Is CIS or NIST better?

Is CIS or NIST better?

CIS and NIST both offer excellent security guidance, and which one is better depends on the specific needs of your organization.

For most organizations, the CIS Controls and Benchmarks are a good starting point for improving their security posture. The CIS Controls are a set of best practices that provide an effective baseline for security. They are designed to be easy to understand and implement, making them an ideal choice for organizations that lack the resources or expertise to implement more complex security measures.

On the other hand, the NIST Special Publication 800-171 (SP 800-171) is the security standard used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in non-federal information systems. It is a more complex and detailed set of security practices than the CIS Controls, and it is designed to meet the specific needs of the DoD. Organizations that are bidding for DoD contracts or other high-level contracts may need to follow the NIST standards in order to be compliant.

In conclusion, both CIS and NIST offer excellent security guidance, but which one is better depends on the particular needs of your organization. For most organizations, the CIS Controls and Benchmarks are a good starting point for improving their security posture. For organizations that are bidding for DoD contracts or other high-level contracts, the NIST SP 800-171 may be the better choice.