The deadline for federal contractors to comply with DFARS clause 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding covered defense information and cyber incident reporting) is drawing near. Small and large companies alike who do business with the Department of Defense and wish to continue doing business with the agency are required to implement NIST SP 800-171 standards, as soon as practical, but not later than December 31, 2017. NIST SP 800-171 is a directive for Protecting Controlled Unclassified