The Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) is a division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that provides centralized criminal justice data and intelligence to law enforcement, national security agencies, and other authorized entities across the United States.
CJIS maintains and secures databases containing criminal records, fingerprints, background checks, and other sensitive law enforcement data. Due to the confidential nature of this information, CJIS enforces a strict security policy to regulate how organizations handle and protect criminal justice data.
CJIS compliance is not just relevant to law enforcement agencies; it also affects private businesses, particularly those handling or processing criminal justice data. Any organization that works with federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies, such as cloud service providers, IT vendors, and background check companies, must adhere to CJIS security standards to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of criminal justice information.
Key Security Requirements of CJIS:
To maintain compliance, organizations must implement robust security measures, including:
- Data Encryption - Protects sensitive data both at rest and in transit.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - Ensures that only authorized users can access CJIS-related data.
- Access Controls - Restricts data access based on user roles and security clearance levels.
- Regular Security Audits - Monitors and assesses compliance to detect vulnerabilities.