Which regulations ensure security clauses are included in classified contracts?

• A. FAR and DFAR
• B. NIST guidelines
• C. OSHA regulations
• D. EPA standards

Answer: (A)

In this context, the binding rules that require security terms in contracts involving classified information come from the federal contracting regulations themselves. The Federal Acquisition Regulation sets the broad framework for how federal contracts are awarded and what terms must appear in those contracts. For defense-related work, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement adds DoD-specific security obligations, including clauses that mandate safeguarding covered defense information, reporting cyber incidents, and ensuring these requirements flow down to subcontractors. This combination is what ensures security clauses are included in classified contracts.

NIST guidelines play an essential role in describing the technical security controls that contractors should implement to meet those clauses—such as the controls in NIST SP 800-171—but they are guidance used to implement the requirements, not the regulations that mandate the inclusion of security clauses themselves. OSHA regulations and EPA standards, by contrast, deal with workplace safety and environmental protection and are not focused on security clauses for classified government contracts.