Understand where you stand and what needs fixing
But there is a short-cut. SecureX7 understands your estate and assets within minutes of on-boarding, and will gather all the evidence needed for an assessment. Better still, it also has complete expert knowledge of the NIST 800 framework requirements, so can guide you through an audit.
All this gets compiled into a Work Plan, or POA&M, complete with AI-assisted remediation guidance.
Investigate technical weaknesses, prioritise the findings that matter and develop practical Work Plans to improve your position.
Establish the requirements and assessment boundary
Confirm which revision of NIST SP 800-171 your agreement or assessment programme requires. Revision 3 is the latest publication, but your applicable obligations must determine the assessment criteria.
Agree the system boundary and identify the components processing, storing or transmitting CUI, together with those protecting them. Document responsibilities shared with service providers. A gap assessment needs a clear scope before its results can support a meaningful readiness decision.
Compare implementation with the applicable requirements
For each requirement, establish how it is implemented, who owns it and what evidence demonstrates the implementation. Use the corresponding assessment procedures to identify the questions that need answering.
Review technical settings alongside policies, records, interviews and operational tests. Record missing evidence separately from a confirmed implementation weakness: both need attention, but the work required to resolve them may differ.
SX7 supports the technical investigation through checks available for your supported systems. Compare the discovered estate with your approved boundary and investigate assets that have not received the intended assessment.
Turn findings into prioritised work
A useful gap assessment gives your team a clear next action. Record the affected systems, security implications, responsible owner and evidence needed to demonstrate resolution.
SX7 helps explain technical findings and provides AI-assisted guidance for remediation planning. Review the recommendations against application dependencies and business requirements, then test and approve changes through your established process.
For example, a configuration review may identify an unnecessary remote service on a server. The administrator confirms its purpose, tests disabling it and deploys the approved change. Reassessment checks the resulting configuration.
Verify improvements before closing gaps
Supported technical checks contribute evidence about particular systems and settings. Your wider gap assessment must also cover organisational requirements and components outside the software’s assessment coverage. Any score should be understood in terms of the scope and criteria assessed.
Build a practical starting point with SecureX7
Bring your applicable revision, system types and current technical concerns to a demonstration. Explore how SX7 findings and AI-assisted Work Plans can help your team investigate weaknesses and verify improvements.