NIST 800-171 Services for Contractors

NIST 800-171 becomes manageable when you treat it like a system—identity, devices, configurations, and evidence—rather than a document you read once. For most small and mid-sized contractors, the biggest barrier is that the environment grew organically: users have inconsistent access, devices are unmanaged, and “how we do things” lives in one person’s head.

Our job is to translate requirements into a practical plan that reduces risk and improves documentation without creating a bureaucracy. That typically starts with scoping, then building a baseline that is consistent enough to defend.

Why NIST 800-171 feels “hard” (and how to make it simple)

NIST 800-171 is rarely hard because a single control is difficult. It’s hard because it assumes consistency across your environment. If users have different setups, if vendor access is undocumented, if devices are unmanaged, then every control becomes a special case.

The simplification strategy is to reduce variation: standardize identity and devices, define a baseline configuration, then attach documentation and evidence to the operations your team already performs. That turns compliance into maintenance rather than a one-time project.

Control areas we usually address first

• Access control: least privilege, admin separation, and consistent authentication
• Auditability: logging and visibility so you can answer “what happened?” quickly
• Configuration management: known baselines and change tracking
• Incident readiness: an operational plan, not just a policy document
• Recovery: backups you can restore under pressure

What we help with

• Scoping: define where CUI lives and which systems are in scope
• Gap assessment: identify gaps and map them to a remediation plan
• Remediation: implement controls and harden key systems
• Documentation: policies, procedures, and evidence organization
• Ongoing management: prevent drift and keep evidence current

What a good roadmap looks like

A good roadmap is not a list of 110 tasks. It’s a staged plan. Stage 1 removes the biggest risks and builds the structure that makes everything else easier (identity, endpoints, access, backups, vendor access). Stage 2 fills remaining gaps and strengthens evidence. Stage 3 is ongoing management so the baseline stays true as the business changes.

If you’ve been stuck, it’s usually because there is no scope boundary and no staged plan—just anxiety and scattered work.

If you want a fast self-check before talking to anyone, answer these questions honestly. Your answers will tell you whether you need scoping, baseline hardening, documentation, or all three.

1. Can you list every system where CUI is stored today?
2. Do you know every vendor and external party with access to those systems?
3. Do all users use MFA, and are admin accounts separated from daily accounts?
4. Do you have a known inventory of devices and a standard configuration baseline?
5. Can you prove patching happens with reporting (not just “we try to keep up”)?
6. Have you performed a restore test recently under realistic conditions?
7. Do you have a change log (tickets) for access and configuration changes?

If two or more of these are “no” or “not sure,” a scoped readiness review is usually the fastest way to get unstuck.