Navigating CJIS Compliance Requirements with Modern Approaches

Data protection regulations encompass so many types of information. We all know the most discussed acronyms, but one that’s less known is Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance. CJIS compliance regulations apply to criminal justice information and involve any government agencies and partners.

In this post, we’ll review the mandates and outline strategies to ensure and simplify your adherence to them.

CJIS published a security policy that serves as a framework for how public safety agencies and law enforcement safeguard sensitive criminal justice information. It includes specific details on:

• Authentication
• Access control
• Data encryption
• Auditing
• Incident response
• Personnel security

All these guidelines champion the overarching goal of ensuring only authorized users have access to the data. For any government body or organization that partners with them, this is mandatory. Common industries subject to CJIS compliance requirements are financial services and insurance.

Within the CJIS are several systems:

• National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
• Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)

These systems hold very sensitive data. Thus, CJIS compliance requirements are some of the most stringent. Noncompliance could result in fines, loss of access to the databases, and criminal charges.

The CJIS Security Policy includes 13 areas:

1. Information exchange agreements: Organizations must define how they will handle the data.
2. Security awareness training: Anyone with access to these databases must complete a training program.
3. Incident response: Companies must report cybersecurity incidents or data breaches and maintain response protocols.
4. Auditing and accountability: Systems must log things like login attempts, user permission changes, password modification attempts, privileged account actions, and attempts to alter or delete files.
5. Access control: Least-privilege principles must be in use.
6. Identification and authentication: Each authorized user must have a unique identity and use an approved authentication method, such as multifactor authentication (MFA).
7. Configuration management: You must document system changes and infrastructure, as well as protect them from unauthorized access.
8. Media protection: You must have policies to govern secure storage, transport, and destruction of digital and physical media.
9. Physical protection: Physical access to CJIS data requires restrictions and monitoring.
10. Protection for systems and communications, and information integrity: Systems must control information movement between networks and applications. They should also protect data integrity.
11. Formal audits: Government entities can perform audits to verify compliance.
12. Personnel security: Anyone allowed access to unencrypted CJIS data is subject to background screening and vendor validation.
13. Mobile devices: There are requirements specific to using smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

These areas cover many aspects of security. Let’s review encryption and access controls further.

Data encryption is a pillar of CJIS compliance requirements. Per CJIS, encryption must be in use when storing or using data (at rest and in transit). The specifications include:

• Minimum 128-bit encryption
• Keys for decrypting data must be adequately complex
• Key changes once authorized personnel no longer need them

When building an encryption strategy, organizations often overlook a critical reality. Applications and workflows need to use encrypted data. The moment encrypted data becomes decrypted and is written to disk, a window of vulnerability opens. During that window, sensitive information sits exposed and unprotected.

This exposure carries real consequences. Unsecured data creates compliance gaps. Additionally, if attackers exfiltrate data during a breach, organizations face regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and damage to customer trust.

So, how can you improve your encryption strategy to close these gaps?

CJIS encryption compliance doesn’t have to be complicated or cause friction. Legacy encryption has limitations, which is why organizations must adopt more modern options.

Modern encryption can embed encrypt and decrypt operations directly into your applications and workflows. Sensitive data never writes to disk unencrypted. Data stays protected at every stage: at rest, and as it moves between applications, systems, and servers.

It’s also certificate-free. Modern encryption uses Smartkeys, which combine encryption keys with a built-in access control list. The result is strong data security with less overhead and lower costs.

Audit logs are another key feature. They eliminate the need for manual evidence gathering, support internal governance, and make it easy to prove compliance. They also enable early detection of anomalies, like failed decryption attempts or unusual spikes in decryption activity.

Modern encryption also doesn’t slow down operations. It facilitates secure access, rather than hindering it. You can also configure encryption policies for the entire enterprise for consistency.

CJIS compliance also has Identity and Access Management (IAM) and MFA requirements. While those are important pillars, they have some weaknesses.

Augmenting IAM and MFA with other capabilities strengthen your security posture. These solutions give them a boost:

• Encrypting at the folder and file level: IAM often misses compromised credentials. Encrypting at the folder and file level can alert or block unusual data movement or access and embeds protection into the data to ensure that it remains protected even if a bad actor gains access.
• Data discovery: You need to have complete visibility into your data before enforcing access controls. Discovery should be continuous and cover every environment.
• Classification: After you identify data, you can assign policies based on content. There’s no reliance on user decisions with this functionality.

PK Protect, a data-centric security platform, combines discovery and protection. It supports all CJIS compliance requirements and delivers security without friction. See how it works and why so many regulated organizations trust it to achieve compliance goals.