Why NIST?

An overview of SEL’s stance on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a cybersecurity framework.

By Dwight Anderson

Cybersecurity is never complete. However, some standards approach cybersecurity as if it’s something you can check off a to-do list upon certification. The downside is that this can result in the attitude that cybersecurity is done and doesn’t need further attention.

We believe that cybersecurity is a continuous cycle of assessing, augmenting, and analyzing. We believe you should think about cybersecurity on a daily basis, regardless of any certifications. That's why we base our ongoing efforts to secure critical infrastructure using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework naturally causes system owners to better understand security in a nonprescriptive manner.

About the Author

Dwight Anderson

Engineering Services Manager

Dwight Anderson leads the cyber services team at Schweitzer Engineering Services, Inc. (SEL). Prior to joining SEL, he worked for 20 years at Hewlett-Packard/Agilent Technologies as an aerospace and defense business development manager and systems engineer, working on projects ranging from electronic warfare countermeasures to SCADA system programming. He is a licensed professional engineer in Texas, holds the Global Security Essentials Certification (GSEC), and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).