If your business deals with sensitive information—credit card numbers, personal health information, or classified government data—you must be aware of the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG). STIGs are a set of security guidelines published by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the US Department of Defense (DoD) agency. STIGs are designed to help DoD organizations secure their information systems. To help organizations ensure and enhance security in their systems and products, a STIG checklist is used to assess security concerns and identify potential vulnerabilities. This article will discuss what a STIG checklist is, its role in cybersecurity, and why it’s important. We will also show you how to create your own STIG checklist!
What is a STIG Checklist?
A STIG checklist is a document that outlines the security measures to be taken for a particular system, application, or environment. They are also used to maintain the quality of products and services. This checklist is essential for businesses or organizations that want to ensure the safety of their data.
With a STIG checklist, you can:
- Audit your system for compliance with security standards
- Pinpoint and resolve possible vulnerabilities before they are exploited
- Ensure that security controls are functioning properly
- Demonstrate to auditors that your system is secure
Why is a STIG Checklist Important?
A STIG checklist is important because it helps you secure your system against potential threats. Using a STIG checklist, you can ensure that your system complies with security standards and that potential vulnerabilities are fixed before they can be exploited.
What’s Included in a STIG Checklist?
STIG checklists vary depending on the system, application, or assessment environment. However, most STIG checklists will include information on how to secure:
- Operating systems
- Databases
- Web applications
- Virtual private networks (VPNs)
- Wireless networks
STIG checklists serve as a guide to complying with the standards set by the DISA. For example, a typical STIG checklist would include the following elements:
- The name of the product or services being examined
- The last update or upgrade to it.
- A list of essential aspects of the product or service that can potentially affect the level of cybersecurity
- The actions to be taken to resolve said risks
- A metric to describe and identify the importance of each risk to the overall safety (e.g., low, medium, and high; also known as Category 1, 2, 3, respectively).
The most commonly utilized STIGs and STIG checklists are for software, hardware, and processes that use the public and private sectors. The categories with the most number of STIGs are:
- Application Security: for applications focused on providing security and maintaining software and hardware.
- Network, Perimeter, Wireless: for the use and maintenance of networks and wireless devices.
- Operating Systems: for the installation and use of operating systems.
STIG checklists aim to ensure and maintain legal compliance and cyber safety. Despite this, they may not be enough to conduct overall system maintenance. Therefore, the use of STIG checklists should be in addition to, not instead of, other security measures.
Creating Your Own STIG Checklist
Now that you know what a STIG checklist is and why it’s important, you may be wondering how you can create your own checklist. Again, we’ve got you covered!
Here are some quick steps you need to take to create one:
- Decide on the system, application, or environment you want to assess.
- Choose the security standard you want to use as a guide.
- Identify the potential risks to your system.
- Select the appropriate security measures to mitigate those risks.
- Create a list of the actions you need to take to implement those security measures.
- Assign a metric to each risk (e.g., low, medium, or high).
Following these steps, you should have a basic STIG checklist that you can use to assess your system. Remember, you can always add to or modify your checklist as needed.
Use DATAMYTE for STIG Compliance
To help ensure that your business complies with STIG, consider using DATAMYTE and its Digital Clipboard. The DataMyte Digital Clipboard is a comprehensive workflow automation software that allows you to create STIG workflows and checklists that you can use to perform inspections.
All your completed forms will be uploaded and stored in the cloud so that field workers can assess them from any device they use and allow them to work on the go. With the DataMyte Digital Clipboard, you can:
- Create comprehensive workflows that focus on safety and quality
- Create comprehensive STIG checklists that are compliant with the latest security standards
- Assign tasks to specific users or groups
- Real-time task and progress monitoring
- Receive alerts and notifications when tasks are completed
- Analyze STIG data to identify trends and issues
- Reduce paper waste
Book a demo with us today to learn more about how the DataMyte Digital Clipboard can help you with STIG compliance. We’ll be happy to show you how our software can streamline your workflow and improve compliance.
Conclusion
As you can see, STIG checklists play an important role in cybersecurity. By creating your STIG checklist, you can assess the risks to your system and take the appropriate measures to mitigate those risks. Additionally, DATAMYTE can help streamline your workflow and improve your compliance. Get started today!
