What is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and what are its five functions?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework organizes cybersecurity activities into five core functions: Identify, which involves understanding assets, risks, and governance; Protect, which implements safeguards including access control, training, and data security; Detect, which establishes monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities; Respond, which defines incident response planning and communication; and Recover, which plans for resilience and restoration after incidents. Each function contains categories and subcategories mapping to specific controls.