Washington, D.C. – Four new federal government computer security guides published by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also could help private-sector and non-federal businesses and organizations counter cyberattacks, NIST says.

"These four guides make available the latest NIST expertise on cybersecurity, continuing the agency's important outreach efforts to support wider awareness of the importance and need for information technology (IT) security, and promote the understanding of IT security vulnerabilities," said NIST director Arden Bement Jr.

The latest in a series designed to help secure U.S. federal agencies, the new additions to the NIST cybersecurity resources list cover interconnecting systems (NIST Special Publication 800-47); procedures for handling security patches (NIST Special Publication 800-40); telecommuting and broadband security (NIST Special Publication 800-46); and the use of the Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) vulnerability naming scheme (NIST Special Publication 800-51).

Computer scientists in NIST's Information Technology Laboratory are charged with providing technical advice to other federal agencies under the Computer Security Act of 1987. To meet this mission, NIST's computer security guides address information needs of systems administrators and other IT professionals.

The published guidance covers topics ranging from how to protect a public Web site from computer hackers to steps agencies can take to make electronic mail systems more secure.

The guides are available for downloading from NIST's Computer Security Resource Center (click on "Special Publications").