How to Ensure Your Company Complies With New Standards

Key Takeaways:
  • CMMC compliance is important for DoD contractors to protect sensitive data and maintain their contracts.
  • Partnering with a knowledgeable consultant helps navigate evolving cybersecurity requirements and avoid hidden pitfalls.
  • Regular gap assessments and an up-to-date System Security Plan keep you aligned with CMMC standards as threats evolve.

 

For companies that provide goods and services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), compliance with a set of cybersecurity protocols known as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requires adherence to rigorous standards of information technology security.

Background

CMMC is a framework developed by DoD to ensure its private contractors and subcontractors meet specific cybersecurity standards. It is designed to protect sensitive government information and systems by establishing a clear set of cybersecurity practices and processes that companies must implement and maintain.

Development of the CMMC is the most recent stage of the DoD’s efforts to ensure the safety and security of data and information technology, which started in 2002, when the Federal Information Security Management Act required each federal agency to develop, document and implement programs to provide security for their information systems.

While adherence to CMMC standards has been required of DoD contractors and subcontractors for several years, the protocols are constantly reassessed and updated to keep up with rapidly changing cybersecurity risks.

How CMMC Affects Companies

What does this mean for companies that have contracts with the DoD?

CMMC compliance is mandatory for businesses working with the DoD, and it requires them to demonstrate their cybersecurity maturity through a multi-level certification process. The CMMC program rule published on Oct. 15, 2024, mandates that all contractors that do business with DoD, and who handle Controlled Unclassified Information or Federal Contract Information must comply with strict cybersecurity standards. While the government’s phased rollout will take time, prime contractors already expect CMMC requirements to be met by subcontractors.

An extensive understanding of CMMC is essential for risk management, C-Suite, CIO, CTO, CISO, IT directors, IT managers, manufacturing business owners and managers at companies that hold contracts with DoD, or which are subcontractors.

How to Become CMMC Compliant

CMMC Level 2 is required for DoD contracts above the micro-purchase threshold (MPT) of $15,000 that process, store or transmit Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

To become compliant with CMMC, a DoD contractor or subcontractor must:

  1. Satisfy all 110 security controls from NIST SP 800-171. (The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a set of voluntary guidelines designed to help organizations assess their ability to prevent, detect and respond to cybersecurity risks. Developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST), the framework was published in 2014 for critical infrastructure sectors but has since been widely adopted across various industries, including government and private enterprises globally.)
  2. Undergo a third-party assessment every three years if the CUI data is critical to national security.
  3. Undergo an annual self-assessment if the CUI data is non-critical to national security.
  4. Close out a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) within 180 days of the Conditional CMMC Status Date.

The Process

Becoming CMMC compliant is a multi-step process that should be done with the help of a technology consultant who understands the process and requirements. Following are some key steps:

  1. Partner with a consultant who has helped other DoD contractors through the CMMC compliance process.
  2. Conduct a gap assessment, in which you evaluate your organization’s current cybersecurity profile and determine what needs to be done to “close the gap” and put you in compliance.
  3. Create a System Security Plan (SSP), which defines the critical controls necessary to safeguard data from cybersecurity threats. The SSP will provide a roadmap to implementing the protocols needed to become CMMC compliant.
  4. Execute the SSP and obtain CMMC certification.

The necessity to minimize cybersecurity risk is growing exponentially, and nowhere more so than in the Defense Department. Contractors who work with DoD must not only satisfy the CMMC mandates as they stand today, but be prepared to continue ramping up their protocols to remain in compliance in the future as new threats emerge.

Contact an Adams Brown Technology Services advisor to discuss your company’s ability to satisfy the cybersecurity risk requirements of the DoD and other federal agencies.