[Offer Grid] 📬 | Frameworks for the Rest of Us: A Friendly Jump‐Start on Cybersecurity | Issue No. 17

Hey there, business mogul!

Last week I let the cat out of the bag: Offer Grid is pivoting from pure business marketing chatter to practical cyber‑safety. You wrote back with everything from fist‑bump emojis to polite panic. (“Uh… do I need a badge to read along now?”)

Why the sea change?

Because just one data breach could very well put you out of business.

The cost in dollars and in reputation could be disastrous.

Tripwire’s Business Impact Report, shows that 73 percent of small business respondents reported experiencing data breaches or cyberattacks within the previous year. 

According to Proofpoint's 2024 Voice of the CISO report, human error causes 74 percent of cybersecurity breaches.

For the hat trick in the bad news department… take a look at IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024. They show that recovery from a data breach can take longer than 100 days, and that the cost of a data breach is up to $4.88 million.

Deep breath. 🌬️ So let’s dig into these concepts.

We can defend.

You won’t need a badge, you don’t need to be a hacker, and you don’t even need to understand code.

To begin you just need the same trait you already flex as a many‑hat entrepreneur: curiosity.

Today we’re laying the first brick by demystifying “security frameworks.” 

Think of frameworks like IKEA instructions for protecting your company.

We’ll unpack:

1. NIST CSF in plain English. What the heck it is, and why even a three‑person shop should care.
   

2. Two cherry‑picked controls from NIST 800‑53 you can start on by Friday.
   

3. PCI DSS—the invisible bodyguard inside your shopping cart. (You may already be meeting these requirements.)
   

4. A bite‑size action plan that earns instant cyber‑karma (no certification required).
   

Ready to learn? Let’s go!

NIST CSF = GPS for Cyber Hygiene (What Is It?)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a framework (i.e. a detailed and structured list at depth) identifying cybersecurity risks, and helping to manage them.

NIST is a government department that publishes the CSF under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As of February 2024 NIST offers version 2.0 of this framework.

At a very high level, the framework is structured like this:

Govern → Identify → Protect → Detect → Respond → Recover

Large businesses run their security policies by it, but here’s the secret: scale is optional. A six‑figure Etsy brand, a boutique law firm, or your cousin’s bookkeeping side hustle can adopt the same constraints.

The framework is about business cybersecurity. Information security.

Picture NIST CSF as Google Maps. You don’t need a chauffeur to follow directions; you just need to know your destination (keep data safe and keep business safe).

“Why Didn’t I Start Sooner?” Controls from NIST 800‑53

NIST 800‑53 is the cookbook that feeds CSF. It lists over 1,000 controls. These controls (think of these as “things we measure, process, or protect”. They each fall into 20 different categories, called “control families”.

There’s no reason in the world to attack the whole list right now. The topic is too much to bite off in one newsletter issue.

In fact, organizations that use NIST CSF to manage their cybersecurity posture don’t tackle the framework all at once. 

The work is a project, usually managed by an assigned person or team. How cybersecurity is managed in any given organization depends on what threats the organization faces, the appetite for risk, and the size of the org.

So before I throw more definitions at you, let’s just take a look at two controls so you get the gist of the thing:

Why these two? Because breaches > 90 % of the time involve either (1) a misused account or (2) activity nobody noticed until damage has already been done.

As I quoted at the opening of this week’s missive, human error introduces the lion’s share of the risk in any business.

When you nail AC-02 and SI‑04 you’ve gotten a good start on managing a giant slice of the internet’s risk pie.

NIST CSF offers a framework to follow. But there is no compliance associated with it.*

This is actually really good news for smaller businesses. You can access the framework and follow the guidelines. There are no fee-laden penalties for non-compliance. 

The actual penalties for non-compliance to the framework are exposure to risk, and lack of readiness to protect the business in the face of cyber attacks.

“I’m Not a Bank, So… PCI Who?”

You’ve may have heard of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). 

We’ll take a quick look at this framework today as well.

This Standard (unrelated to NIST) is a list of twelve compliance measures. If you want to take credit card payments you must comply.

Good news: if you use Stripe, PayPal, or Shopify Payments, you’re already riding their compliance coattails. They handle the encryption, the audits, and the annual paperwork.

Why mention it? Because frameworks often hide under the hood. Knowing PCI exists helps you vet tools. (“Are they Level 1 PCI compliant?” and “Does this software tool integrate with my compliant environment?”)

Talking about PCI also reinforces today’s theme: frameworks aren’t just bureaucracy. They’re invisible guardrails that keep revenue rolling.

By using selling-tools like Shopify, you’re gaining access to an environment in which you get a certain degree of safety.

Think of this environment like the Apple App store, or Google Play store. When you download apps in these environments you’re assured that the apps you download are free of malware. They won’t break your systems. Most of the time they are what they say they are.

When you use Shopify for example, to host your store, you get a similarly safe environment. Apps are vetted. You don’t need to integrate your own merchant account. 

There is a certain amount of safety included with it.

So using Shopify and those other payment aggregators along with other store platforms keep you from having to comply with PCI DSS yourself.

Whether you must comply directly, or if you are in compliance because of your environment, it’s good to have knowledge of PCI DSS and its requirements, for the health and safety of your business assets.

One‑Hour “Framework Sampler” Challenge

Want to taste the benefits without boiling the ocean? Set a timer for 60 minutes and knock out this trio:

1. Identify: List your assets. Prioritize them. Find the five data items that would make it a very bad day if leaked (e.g., client invoices, customer lists, Stripe keys, intellectual property).
   

2. Protect (AC‑02 Lite): Give each staffer or VA an individual login to one platform you currently share. Wave goodbye to the communal password sticky note. And use good password hygiene. No more password sharing.
   

3. Detect (SI‑04 Lite): Switch on email alerts for new device logins in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
   

Boom. You’ve just looped through three CSF functions and two 800‑53 controls. No board approval, no sweaty acronyms.

Actual compliance is more detailed than this exercise. But for a small business these three steps are a really good start.

Of course, business impact is always the measure to any business owner or manager.

Complying with security frameworks carries its own associated costs. Time needed to assess and implement. Human resources, to apply human hours to the evaluations. Hard costs, where tools and equipment are required to meet a security need.

Built-in with NIST implementation is the balance between cost-to-implement with impact on the business. 

In a sense, the process is “choose your own adventure”.

I’m not aware of any business that had so many spare resources that a new program (like a detailed framework like NIST CSF 2.0) could be applied in full measure, overnight.

There’s software to consider. Some of it costly.

There’s training, and time to spend on the compliance steps, and so much more.

You’ll find that you have to make concessions. 

“Yes, we can afford to shoulder this risk.”

“No, we can’t afford a risk like this.”

One of the benefits, however, when you go through NIST CSF implementation is that if you can show a certain measure of compliance you may get preferred rates against cyber risks with business insurance.

So the sheer costs may not be so heavy in the long run.

OK, that’s it for this week.

I know the topic is a far cry from the “make more money” topics I’ve addressed for the past four months.

Cybersecurity for businesses of all sizes is at the front of my mind every day.

The threats are real.

I look at larger businesses, with their cybersecurity departments already in place. Some large businesses have IT departments that include cybersecurity. Others have completely dedicated cybersecurity departments.

But what about the small targets? (Because that’s how attackers see your business. That project you love and have breathed life into is a target to them.) Small businesses that don’t have dedicated cybersecurity staff, or even dedicated IT staff… 

Going forward we’ll be exploring applications in safety for your business.

And I am really excited about the journey.

Until next week,

Amy

Cybersecurity Watchdog | Business‑Strategy Consultant

*While there is no NIST certification, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies(NICCS) does offer a certification called “the Certified NIST CSF LI” (CSF LI). The LI is “Lead Implementer”. And the certification shows the recipient’s ability to implement NIST CSF for an organization. It imbues expert status in developing, implementing, and managing a detailed cybersecurity program following NIST CSF best practices.