CUI Protection (NIST 800-171)

What CUI Protection (NIST 800-171) requires

NIST Special Publication 800-171 Revision 3 (published May 2024) defines 17 control families containing 110 security requirements for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in non-federal systems and organizations - primarily defense contractors, research institutions, and suppliers processing federal contract information (FCI) and CUI under DFARS Clause 252.204-7012. Compliance with NIST 800-171 is mandatory for any organization holding a DoD contract that involves CUI, and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 Level 2 assessment directly audits all 110 NIST 800-171 requirements through a Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO). The Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) score, derived from self-assessment against NIST 800-171, affects contract award decisions, and DoD contracting officers are required to review SPRS scores as part of the source selection process. Failure to implement required controls exposes contractors to contract termination, False Claims Act liability (up to three times damages plus civil penalties), and debarment from federal contracting. AI agents operating within defense contractor environments that process, store, or transmit CUI must comply with all applicable NIST 800-171 requirements, particularly access control, audit logging, system and communications protection, and configuration management families.

Pillar: Aviation, Defense & Quantum · Authority: NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) · Version: 1.1.0 · Last updated: 2026-04-09

Primary source: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-171r3

SHA-256 integrity: 253db53734a151da42ba62dccb4dd29a55e93ae842ffd3d3a859ae54c2f55fdf

Primary Citations — 6 traced to source

• NIST Special Publication 800-171, Revision 3: Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations (May 2024)
• Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012: Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting

+ 4 more citations (full bibliography, deterministic workflow, actionable schema and crosswalks) included in the vault unlock — $0.01 via Skyfire / L402 / Direct Base USDC.

Access

• Discovery (free): /api/v1/nodes/nist-800-171-cui.json — 6-field metadata
• Vault (full node): /api/v1/vault/nodes/nist-800-171-cui.json — full 13-key payload, $0.01 USDC (L402/Skyfire/Direct Base)
• Canonical URL: https://bidda.com/intelligence/nist-800-171-cui
• Back to registry: Browse all 10,090 compliance nodes