Known more commonly as NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology provides cybersecurity frameworks that not only are integral for many government and Department of Defense contracts but are also widely accepted as a solid launch point for most organizations’ cybersecurity efforts. Schellman has been operating in the federal compliance space for years as an accredited FedRAMP 3PAO, and now as a CMMC C3PAO. Over that time, we’ve helped many of our clients decipher the many NIST frameworks as they determined the right direction for them and their environment.

If you’re a business that handles credit cards and other data related to digital payments, you’ve likely heard of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), or the set of interrelated controls designed to enable those handling credit cards and related data to protect the information entrusted to them.

All of us likely remember hearing something like this from our parents: “when I come in there, your room better be clean!”

It seems like Apple releases a new version of the iPhone every year these days, and despite all the new iterations featuring similar looks, builds, and functions, there’s always that period where everyone has to get used to the new thing.

Throughout history, warfare has evolved. The Romans did it one way, the Vikings did it another—Sun Tzu, Richard the Lionheart, and the Allied forces all had different tactics that forced opponents to adjust their defenses and strategies.

Have you ever picked out a hike in the mountains, but once you arrive at the base and look up, you think to yourself, “oh man, I have to climb that?” Your enthusiasm might bleed away a little bit.

Banking regulation has always been a bit of a tennis match—a back-and-forth between more regulation, and then less. Before the shift to deregulation starting in the 1980s, banks adhered to state and federal banking laws, as well as narrow lines of business. After years of phased-in deregulation, the pendulum swung back. Now regulatory and industry compliance for banks includes more rules than ever before: privacy laws, federal trade regulations, non-bank industry regulations, and community impact reporting.

If you’ve ever signed up for a race, you may have had a few options to choose from. Sometimes, there’s a 15k, a 10k, an 8k, and, of course, a 5k, which is generally the starting standard for amateur runners and/or walkers. Each option has a certain degree of difficulty, and all of them require intentional steps for completing the race successfully.