The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF), presented in NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-218, is a collection of recommended practices designed to enhance software security throughout its development lifecycle. It’s important to note that the SSDF is not a rigid checklist, but rather a flexible framework that organizations can adapt to their specific needs and risk profiles.
Through our Software Compliance Testing service for NIST SSDF we assess and test vendors’ software solutions to ensure they support NIST SSDF recommended practices. After a thorough evaluation, we feature these solutions on our website.
Compliance Testing for NIST SSDF relies on credible, objective testing controls based on the intent of NIST SSDF recommended practices. This approach incorporates insights from consultants’ perspective, and various specialists, including affected software vendors, developers, users, and industry groups, to align with organizational needs. NIST SSDF compliance testing controls cover the following software controls categories:
The SSDF broadly addresses application and DevOps security through various practices focused on secure design, development, testing, and deployment. For example, PW.1, PW.5, PW.6, PW.7, PW.8, and PW.9 directly relate to building secure software, while PO.3 and PO.5 deal with secure development environments and toolchains.
PO.1 and PS.3 partially address asset inventory and management, specifically concerning identifying and tracking software and its components throughout the SDLC, highlighting the importance of maintaining an inventory of software assets, including third-party components, and documenting their security requirements.
PO.2 emphasizes training developers on secure coding practices and keeping them updated on new threats and vulnerabilities, recommending incorporating security awareness into the organization’s culture and providing developers with the knowledge and skills to develop secure software.
While not explicitly addressed as a standalone practice, backup and recovery are crucial aspects of securing software development environments (PO.5) and ensuring business continuity in case of security incidents.
PO.1, PO.4, and PS.3 contribute to audit and compliance management by requiring documentation of security requirements, establishing criteria for security checks, and maintaining provenance data for software releases. This documentation helps demonstrate compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
PW.1, PS.1, and PO.5 relate to data security by emphasizing secure design principles for handling sensitive data, protecting software and data from unauthorized access, and securing development environments. Data encryption is specifically mentioned as a critical aspect of securing sensitive data within development environments (PO.5.2).
PO.5, particularly PO.5.2, focuses on securing development endpoints by implementing hardening measures, enforcing least privilege, and employing continuous monitoring. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is highlighted as a crucial security control for development endpoints (PO.5.2).
PW.1 and PO.5 touch upon identity management and access control. PW.1.3 encourages the use of standardized security features and services for authentication and authorization, while PO.5 stresses the need for secure configurations and access controls within development environments.
RV.1 focuses on establishing and implementing incident response capabilities, including vulnerability disclosure programs, incident response teams (PSIRTs), and processes for handling and responding to security incidents, highlighting the importance of having a robust and practiced incident response plan to address software vulnerabilities and security incidents effectively.
PO.3 and PW.5 mention logging as a crucial aspect of secure software development and operational security. PO.3 recommends continuous monitoring of tools and tool logs for security issues, while PW.5 encourages logging security-relevant events within the software, emphasizing the importance of generating and storing security-related logs for both on-premises and cloud-based products to facilitate threat detection and incident response.
While not directly addressed as a standalone category, network security is implicit in securing software development environments (PO.5) and protecting software from network-based threats.
RV.1 and RV.2 are dedicated to vulnerability management, covering the identification, assessment, prioritization, and remediation of vulnerabilities throughout the SDLC, highlighting the need for continuous vulnerability management, including vulnerability scanning, risk assessment, and timely patching.
PO.1 and PW.1 form the foundation for risk assessment and management within the SSDF. These practices emphasize the importance of identifying security requirements, conducting risk modeling, and designing software to mitigate potential risks, recommending using tailored threat models during development to prioritize security features and mitigate the most critical risks.
PS.3.2 explicitly addresses the generation and maintenance of SBOMs for each software release, emphasizing the significance of SBOMs in providing transparency and visibility into software components, aiding in vulnerability management and incident response.
PO.5 aligns with Zero Trust principles, particularly in securing development environments. PO.5.1 and PO.5.2 suggest configuring environments with a Zero Trust architecture, emphasizing micro-segmentation, least privilege, and continuous monitoring.
Compliance Labs has developed the compliance continuous testing process as a fundamental aspect of the NIST SSDF compliance testing controls. The continuous evaluation process will monitor new cybersecurity regulations and standards compliance controls or frameworks best practices and update testing criteria to drive software compliance effectiveness and quality over the long term.
