NIST’s release of their initial public draft of SP 800-137, Guide for Continuous Monitoring of Information Systems and Organizations will create a set of challenges for the federal cybersecurity community. Agencies and contractors will need to shape the document through the multi-stage revision process while continuing to implement their own continuous monitoring measures.

To assist stakeholders in developing a response to the initial draft, subsequent drafts and implementation of the final document, the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) has created FISMA Focus, an interactive public docket on federal cybersecurity policies. FISMA Focus includes a discussion forum dedicated to SP 800-137. The forum will allow comments, analyses and detailed supporting documents in various formats to be posted for discussion. Users will be free to post their own materials or comment on materials already posted.

To ensure ease of use and to preserve user anonymity where such anonymity is desired, FISMA Focus requires no registration. Users are free to identify themselves or not in any posting. CRE will screen all user-submitted posts for spam or other inappropriate material (obscenity, etc.) but we do not discriminate against any viewpoint. To the contrary, CRE welcomes and needs diverse perspectives on continuous monitoring and other FISMA issues.

Although NIST’s continuance monitoring guidance document is the first issue that FISMA Focus is addressing, additional issues will be added based on the views and needs of stakeholders.

CRE created FISMA Focus to spur discussion of federal information security issues with the aim of improving the development, operation and management of our nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure. The success of this project will depend on our readers. We look forward to your participation.

FISMA Focus may be found at http://www.thecre.com/fisma/.