American Digital Services selected this framework specifically because it is referenced by the Department of Defense’s DFARS 252.204-7012 specification as the baseline for required security controls.
https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final
The protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) residents in nonfederal systems and organizations is of paramount importance to federal agencies and can directly impact the ability of the federal government to successfully conduct its assigned missions and business operations. This publication provides federal agencies with a set of recommended security requirements for protecting the confidentiality of CUI when such information is resident in nonfederal systems and organizations; when the nonfederal organization is not collecting or maintaining information on behalf of a federal agency or using or operating a system on behalf of an agency; and where there are no specific safeguarding requirements for protecting the confidentiality of CUI prescribed by the authorizing law, regulation, or government-wide policy for the CUI category or subcategory listed in the CUI Registry. The security requirements apply to all components of nonfederal systems and organizations that process, store, or transmit CUI, or that provide security protection for such components. The requirements are intended for use by federal agencies in contractual vehicles or other agreements established between those agencies and nonfederal organizations.
Control families covered in this publication:
- Access Control
- Audit and Accountability
- Awareness and Training
- Configuration Management
- Identification and Authentication
- Maintenance
- Media Protection
- Personnel Security
- Physical and Environmental Protection
- System and Communications Protection
- System and Information Integrity