The Cyber Security Research and Development Act of 2002 tasks the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to "develop, and revise as necessary, a checklist setting forth settings and option selections that minimize the security risks associated with each computer hardware or software system that is, or is likely to become widely used within the Federal Government." Such checklists, when combined with well-developed guidance, leveraged with high-quality security expertise, vendor product knowledge, operational experience, and accompanied with tools, can markedly reduce the vulnerability exposure of an organization. Pursuant to the NIST response to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and according the NIST Special Publication 800-53, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems, this standardized XML format enables an automated provisioning of recommendations for minimum security controls for information systems categorized in accordance with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems.