The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations dealing with standards on digital data. Founded in 1901, NIST is a chain of physical laboratories charged with researching best practices on a wide variety of technical and applied sciences. Today NIST is most known for its publications on information technology. Although they often influence United States regulations at different levels, from local to federal, NIST guidelines themselves are non-regulatory and do not have the force of law. Still, the guidelines of NIST almost always become policy for federal agencies and other affiliated bodies and are used as a framework in both health and financial industries. Additionally, due to the weight of NIST as an authority, achieving compliance with their recommendations is considered industry standard throughout the world of IT.