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NIST SP 800-171 Consulting Services

NIST SP 800-171 Consulting Services

If your company handles Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) as part of a federal contract, simply having security policies is not enough. You need a security program that protects CUI, offers clear proof, and meets your contract requirements.

Tanner Security provides NIST SP 800-171 consulting to help defense contractors and other businesses review their security, identify gaps, prepare documentation, set up practical controls, and get ready for CMMC requirements.

NIST SP 800-171 Consulting Services

What Is NIST SP 800-171?

NIST Special Publication 800-171 provides security requirements for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in nonfederal systems. The requirements apply to systems that process, store, or transmit CUI, and to systems that provide security for those systems.

NIST released SP 800-171 Revision 3 in May 2024, which is now the latest version. This update reorganized and updated the security requirements, changed how they can be tailored, added organization-defined options, and made the publication more like NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5.

If your company is working toward CMMC, keep in mind that CMMC still uses NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 and its 110 security requirements. The Department of Defense allows companies to use Rev. 3, but you must still meet the Rev. 2 requirements for CMMC until the rules change.

Your compliance plan should start with your actual contract requirements, not just the latest version number.

Tanner Security can help your company figure out which NIST SP 800-171 requirements apply, review your current controls, and create a clear compliance plan.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 vs. Rev. 3?

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 vs. Rev. 3: What Should Your Company Follow?

This question is more important than ever for defense contractors.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 is the current NIST publication. NIST finalized the revision in May 2024 and designed it to provide updated requirements for protecting CUI.

CMMC currently uses NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2. CMMC Level 2 keeps assessing against the 110 requirements from Rev. 2. The Department of Defense has indicated that future rulemaking will address the transition to Rev. 3.

Your company should not move from Rev. 2 to Rev. 3 without checking your contract requirements first.

Tanner Security can help you figure out whether your immediate goal involves NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, Rev. 3, CMMC, or a mix of requirements.

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Who Needs NIST SP 800-171 Consulting?

NIST SP 800-171 often affects companies that receive federal contracts and handle CUI on their own systems.

Defense contractors and subcontractors make up a significant portion of the companies that must address these requirements. Aerospace and defense manufacturers, engineering firms, technology companies, software providers, research firms, and other businesses that support federal programs may also encounter NIST SP 800-171 requirements through contractual flow downs.

Your contract language sets the exact requirements for your company. Before assuming your entire IT environment is in scope, review your contracts, data flows, how you handle CUI, and your system boundaries.

Tanner Security helps companies define their scope before investing time and money in remediation.

Understanding the 14 NIST SP 800-171 Control Families

NIST SP 800-171 is structured around 14 control families, each addressing a specific aspect of cybersecurity.

Access control ensures that only authorized users can access systems containing CUI. Awareness and training focus on educating employees about security risks and responsibilities. Audit and accountability provide visibility into system activity through logging and monitoring.

Configuration management establishes secure system baselines, while identification and authentication verify user identities. Incident response ensures your business can detect, respond to, and recover from security events.

Other control families include maintenance, media protection, physical protection, personnel security, risk assessment, security assessment, system and communications protection, and system and information integrity. Together, these controls create a layered security approach that reduces risk and supports compliance.

What Does NIST SP 800-171 Consulting Include?

We evaluate your current security controls against the requirements that apply to your environment. The assessment identifies gaps in access control, authentication, logging, configuration management, incident response, system protection, risk management, and security assessment.

We rank our findings by risk and compliance impact so your team knows what to focus on first.

Before implementing controls, your company needs to understand where CUI is stored and which systems support its processing, storage, or transmission.

Tanner Security helps establish a defensible assessment scope by examining your systems, applications, users, data flows, cloud services, endpoints, network architecture, and supporting security services.

Proper scoping can reduce extra compliance costs and help your company protect only the systems that truly need more safeguards.

Your System Security Plan explains how your company implements the applicable security requirements and defines the systems covered by your security program.

Tanner Security can help you create or update your SSP so it accurately matches your environment, instead of using generic compliance language.

An SSP should describe what your company really does.

If your documents claim you use a security control, but your technical controls do not support it, an assessor will notice.

A POA&M identifies security gaps your company still needs to address and defines the actions, resources, owners, and milestones for remediation.

A POA&M should be an active plan for fixing issues, not just a list of unsolved problems.

Tanner Security can help your team prioritize remediation based on risk, contractual requirements, and assessment objectives.

NIST SP 800-171 covers more than just technology.

Your company needs policies and procedures that define how employees and administrators manage security responsibilities. Tanner Security can help develop or improve documentation covering access management, incident response, acceptable use, configuration management, media protection, vulnerability management, risk management, and security awareness.

Finding a gap is only the first step.

Tanner Security can help your team determine how to address technical and administrative issues. Depending on the engagement, this may involve recommendations for identity and access management, endpoint security, logging and monitoring, network segmentation, vulnerability management, backup protection, authentication, encryption, or other security controls.

We want to help you put controls in place that truly work for your environment.

Many defense contractors seek NIST SP 800-171 consulting to prepare for CMMC.

CMMC Level 2 currently aligns with the 110 security requirements in NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2. Companies pursuing CMMC therefore need to understand both their contractual requirements and the current CMMC assessment framework.

Tanner Security can help your company build its NIST SP 800-171 program with CMMC readiness in mind.

We love working with the Information Security team at Tanner Security Consultants. They customized their service offerings to fit our needs and put together a team of well-qualified individuals to work with us. Their team has exceeded my expectations.

Brad B. – President

What Are the Most Common NIST SP 800-171 Compliance Gaps?

Many companies find their biggest challenge is not just having a security control, but being able to prove that it works.

For example, a company may require MFA but fail to enforce it consistently across privileged accounts. It may maintain an incident response policy but never test its incident response process. It may have centralized logging but fail to retain or review the appropriate events.

Documentation can also be a big issue. Your SSP, policies, procedures, technical setups, and assessment evidence all need to match up.

Tanner Security uses this approach for NIST SP 800-171 consulting. We review the requirements, technology, documentation, and evidence together.

NIST SP 800-171 and Cloud Services

Cloud environments can make CUI compliance more difficult because both your company and your cloud provider share responsibility for security controls.

Putting CUI on Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, or any other cloud platform does not automatically make your company compliant.

Your company is still responsible for the controls in its part of the environment and must understand how the cloud provider supports its security requirements.

Tanner Security can evaluate cloud architecture, identity controls, configurations, logging, access management, data protection, and other security considerations that affect your NIST SP 800-171 program.

CMMC vs NIST SP 800-171

How Tanner Security Approaches NIST SP 800-171 Consulting

Compliance should be more than just completing paperwork.

Tanner Security treats NIST SP 800-171 consulting as a cybersecurity improvement project that includes compliance requirements.

We start by learning about your business, contracts, CUI environment, technology, and current security program. Then we identify gaps, prioritize fixes, improve documentation, and help your team put controls in place that address both security risks and contract requirements.

Our security consultants work with both technical teams and business leaders. This helps us turn technical findings into practical decisions about risk, cost, and priorities.

We know most companies do not start from scratch. If your business already uses the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, CIS Controls, ISO 27001, or another framework, we can identify existing controls that help you meet your NIST SP 800-171 goals instead of making you rebuild everything.

NIST SP 800-171 Compliance Cost

The cost of NIST SP 800-171 consulting depends on your current security posture, the size of your environment, and how quickly you need to achieve compliance or CMMC certification.

For smaller businesses with limited infrastructure, costs typically range from $15,000 to $40,000 for assessments, documentation, and basic remediation. Mid-sized firms often invest between $50,000 and $150,000, especially when technical controls and external support are required.

Larger environments or companies preparing for CMMC Level 2 certification may see costs exceed $200,000, particularly when advanced monitoring, tooling, and ongoing support are involved.

Several factors influence cost. The scope and size of the environment, along with its existing maturity, are the most important factors. Businesses that already follow frameworks like CIS Controls or NIST CSF will require less effort to align with NIST SP 800-171. The complexity of your IT environment, the number of users and systems, and the need for third-party tools or services also impact total investment.

NIST SP 800-171 Compliance Is an Ongoing Process

Your company is not secure just because you complete a gap assessment.

Security controls, employees, systems, vendors, and cloud environments all change. New vulnerabilities appear. Your CUI environment can also change as your company wins new contracts or adds new systems.

This means your compliance program needs ongoing management.

Tanner Security can help your company set up a sustainable process for reviewing controls, keeping documentation up to date, managing vulnerabilities, validating fixes, and preparing for future assessments.

Need Help with your NIST 800-171 Assessment

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Common Challenges Businesses Face

Many companies struggle with NIST SP 800-171 because they underestimate the level of detail required and the proper scope for an environment.

  • One of the most common issues is incomplete or inaccurate documentation or policies. Businesses may have controls in place, but without a properly developed System Security Plan, they cannot demonstrate compliance.
  • Another challenge is misunderstanding shared responsibility, particularly in cloud environments. Companies often assume their cloud provider covers all requirements, when in reality, many controls remain their responsibility.
  • Continuous monitoring is another area where firms fall short. Initial implementation may be successful, but maintaining compliance requires ongoing effort, including log reviews, vulnerability management, and policy updates.
  • Finally, businesses often delay remediation efforts. A POA&M is not a substitute for compliance, it is a temporary measure that must be actively managed and resolved.

How Tanner Security Helps You Achieve NIST SP 800-171 Compliance

Tanner Security provides hands-on NIST SP 800-171 consulting designed to deliver measurable results.

We begin with a detailed gap assessment to identify where your business stands today. From there, we develop a clear, prioritized roadmap that aligns with your operational needs and compliance goals.

Our team supports the development of your System Security Plan and POA&M, ensuring both are accurate, defensible, and aligned with audit expectations. We also assist with implementing technical and administrative controls to help your team avoid common pitfalls.

Because many of our clients are working toward CMMC Level 2 certification, we ensure your NIST SP 800-171 efforts directly support that objective. This focus reduces duplication and accelerates your path to certification. There are a few differences between CMMC vs NIST SP 800-171 compliance. 

Most importantly, we focus on practical implementation. Our goal is to help your business build a security program that not only meets compliance requirements but also protects your systems and data in real-world conditions.

Why Choose Tanner Security?

NIST SP 800-171 consulting requires more than just knowing the framework.

You need a security partner who understands how technical controls work in real business situations.

Tanner Security combines cybersecurity assessment, penetration testing, risk management, compliance consulting, policy development, and security advice. This allows us to look at your security program from different perspectives, not just as a paperwork project.

Our approach focuses on three questions:

  • What does the requirement require?
  • How does your company currently address it?
  • What evidence demonstrates that the control works?

This approach helps you build a stronger security program and gives your team a clear path to improve security.

If your company handles CUI, pursues Department of Defense contracts, or needs to prepare for CMMC, Tanner Security can help you understand your current situation and what steps to take next.

We can review your setup, find gaps, help define your CUI scope, create or update your SSP and POA&M, and offer advice on fixing issues.

Don’t wait for a contract deadline or assessment to uncover problems in your security program.

Related Cybersecurity Services

A NIST assessment often identifies opportunities that require additional security testing, compliance support, or risk management services. Tanner Security provides a broad range of services that can complement a NIST IT audit.

CMMC Assessment and Readiness Services help defense contractors evaluate NIST SP 800-171 requirements, address compliance gaps, and prepare for CMMC assessments.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework Consulting helps businesses use CSF 2.0 to assess cybersecurity maturity, establish target outcomes, and build a practical cybersecurity improvement roadmap.

IT Risk Assessment Services provide a larger evaluation of technology risks and help leadership prioritize IT security investments based on business impact.

IT Audit Services provide an independent evaluation of IT governance, security controls, technology processes, and operational effectiveness.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance Consulting helps businesses connect cybersecurity, risk management, governance, and regulatory requirements into an IT security program.

Network Vulnerability Assessments identify known vulnerabilities, unpatched software, exposed services, and configuration weaknesses across your technology environment.

Network Penetration Testing validates whether vulnerabilities and weaknesses can actually be exploited by a real-world attacker.

Cloud Risk Assessment and Penetration Testing evaluates AWS, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Google Cloud, and hybrid environments.

IT Policy Development helps businesses develop practical policies and procedures that align with NIST requirements, security governance, and day-to-day operations.

Together, these services help your business move from finding cybersecurity gaps to putting solutions in place, making sure they work, and continuing to improve.

FAQs: NIST SP 800-171 Consulting

NIST SP 800-171 provides security requirements for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in nonfederal systems. Federal agencies can incorporate these requirements into contracts and other agreements that require contractors to protect CUI.

NIST published Revision 3 in May 2024. However, CMMC currently uses Revision 2 for its Level 2 requirements.

NIST SP 800-171 becomes a contractual requirement when the applicable federal contract, regulation, or flow down clause requires your company to implement it.

Defense contractors and subcontractors commonly encounter these requirements through Department of Defense contracts and DFARS clauses.

Your company should review its specific contracts rather than assume that NIST SP 800-171 applies based solely on the type of work it performs.

NIST finalized Rev. 3 in May 2024. The revision changes the structure and content of the requirements, updates the tailoring approach, introduces organization-defined parameters, and aligns the publication with newer NIST security controls.

CMMC currently continues to use the 110 requirements from Rev. 2 for Level 2.

That distinction matters for defense contractors because implementing Rev. 3 does not automatically satisfy current CMMC requirements.

Yes. CMMC Level 2 currently uses the 110 security requirements from NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2.

Companies preparing for CMMC should therefore build their compliance program around the requirements currently assessed by CMMC Level 2 while monitoring future DoD rulemaking regarding Rev. 3.

The answer depends on which revision you mean.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 contains 110 security requirements, which currently form the basis for CMMC Level 2.

Rev. 3 reorganized and revised the requirements and no longer uses the same 110-requirement structure.

CUI refers to information that the federal government creates or possesses, or that a contractor creates or possesses for the government, that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls under applicable laws, regulations, and government-wide policies.

Not every piece of information associated with a federal contract qualifies as CUI. Your company should identify the specific CUI categories and contractual requirements that apply to its work.

A System Security Plan documents how your company implements applicable security requirements and describes the system boundary and security environment covered by the plan.

An effective SSP should accurately describe your actual environment. Generic language that does not match your technology, policies, or processes may cause problems during an assessment.

A Plan of Action and Milestones identifies security deficiencies that require remediation and documents the actions and milestones needed to address them.

For CMMC, companies must follow specific rules governing when they can use a POA&M and how they must close outstanding requirements.

CMMC guide permits POA&Ms in certain circumstances, but significant restrictions apply.

Companies should not assume that they can place any unmet requirement on a POA&M and still achieve the desired CMMC status. The applicable CMMC rules determine which requirements qualify and establish deadlines for closing them.

The timeline varies considerably. A company with a mature security program may need significantly less remediation than a business starting with limited documentation, weak identity controls, incomplete logging, or an undefined CUI environment.

The fastest way to establish a realistic timeline is to complete a gap assessment and develop a prioritized remediation plan. Read more about how to quickly get CMMC certified.

The cost depends on the size and complexity of your environment, the scope of your CMMC environment, your existing security maturity, the amount of documentation required, the number of gaps, and the level of remediation support you need.

Tanner Security can evaluate your environment and develop a scope based on your actual requirements rather than applying a generic price to every company.

Yes. Company size does not automatically exempt a business from contractual requirements to protect CUI.

NIST specifically released a Small Business Primer for SP 800-171 Rev. 3 to help smaller businesses understand and implement the requirements.

The right approach for a smaller company usually involves carefully defining the CUI environment and building controls that match the company’s actual risk and contractual obligations.

NIST SP 800-171 includes requirements related to security assessment and system and information integrity, but a penetration test does not automatically satisfy every security requirement.

A penetration test can give valuable evidence about the effectiveness of security controls and identify exploitable weaknesses that a documentation review may miss.

Your company should determine its testing requirements based on the applicable NIST, contractual, and CMMC requirements.

Yes, Tanner Security can help companies assess their security posture, identify compliance gaps, develop documentation, support remediation, and prepare for CMMC-related requirements.

Because CMMC currently uses NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, we help clients distinguish between the current NIST publication and the requirements that CMMC currently assesses.

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