Question 1

What is Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)?

Accepted Answer

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is government-created or government-received information that requires safeguarding but is not classified. CUI categories include: Critical Infrastructure (CRIT), Export Control (EXPT), Financial (FIN), Intelligence (INTEL), Law Enforcement (LAW), Legal (LEGAL), Natural Resources (NAT), Privacy (PRIV), and Procurement/Acquisition (PROC). Defense contractors handling CUI must comply with NIST SP 800-171 as required by DFARS clause 252.204-7012.

Question 2

What are the 14 control families in NIST 800-171?

Accepted Answer

NIST 800-171 Rev 2 contains 110 security requirements across 14 families: Access Control (AC) - 22 requirements, Awareness and Training (AT) - 3, Audit and Accountability (AU) - 9, Configuration Management (CM) - 9, Identification and Authentication (IA) - 11, Incident Response (IR) - 3, Maintenance (MA) - 6, Media Protection (MP) - 9, Personnel Security (PS) - 2, Physical Protection (PE) - 6, Risk Assessment (RA) - 3, Security Assessment (CA) - 4, System and Communications Protection (SC) - 16, and System and Information Integrity (SI) - 7.

Question 3

How do I define a CUI boundary?

Accepted Answer

A CUI boundary defines all systems, networks, storage locations, and processes that create, receive, store, transmit, or process CUI. To define your boundary: (1) Identify all CUI data flows from government sources to your systems, (2) Map every system that touches CUI including email, file shares, databases, and cloud services, (3) Document all network segments where CUI transits, (4) Identify all personnel with CUI access, (5) Include backup systems and disaster recovery sites. Minimizing your CUI boundary reduces the number of systems requiring NIST 800-171 compliance.

Question 4

What happens if I don't comply with NIST 800-171?

Accepted Answer

Non-compliance with NIST 800-171 for defense contractors can result in: loss of existing DoD contracts through DFARS clause enforcement, disqualification from future contract awards, False Claims Act liability (up to 3x damages) if compliance was misrepresented, mandatory CMMC certification failure, reputational damage that affects commercial relationships, and potential ITAR violations if CUI includes export-controlled technical data. The DoD is increasing enforcement through CMMC 2.0 third-party assessments.

Question 5

What is the difference between NIST 800-171 and NIST 800-53?

Accepted Answer

NIST 800-171 contains 110 security requirements specifically for protecting CUI in non-federal systems (contractors). NIST 800-53 contains 1,000+ security controls for federal information systems. 800-171 requirements are derived from 800-53 moderate baseline controls tailored for non-federal environments. For example, 800-171 requirement 3.1.1 (Authorized Access) maps to 800-53 controls AC-2, AC-3, and AC-17. Organizations seeking CMMC Level 2 must implement all 110 NIST 800-171 requirements.

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The 14 NIST 800-171 Control Families

Access Control

System & Comms Protection

ID & Authentication

Audit & Accountability

Config Management

Media Protection

System Integrity

+ 7 More Families

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