Getting CMMC Certified in Dallas, Texas (TX)
Security is central to the acquisition, and shouldn’t be exchanged for expense, timeline, and efficiency. The Department remains dedicated to collaborating with the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) to strengthen the security of unclassified managed knowledge (CUI) within the supply chain. One of the biggest takeaways is that the CMMC must review and integrate various information protection guidelines and common practices as well as map these procedures and controls through several stages of sophistication, varying from simple data safety to sophisticated ones.
The CMMC is a blend of different parts and emerging computer protection requirements. The DoD needed all contractors and subcontractors to be consistent with NIST SP 800-171 before implementing the CMMC.
With respect to the current system, certain parts of cybersecurity requirements would need to be blended into the latest cybersecurity model, namely NIST SP 800-53, ISO 270001, and ISO 27032. The department’s goal is to establish a common standard that “tests the sophistication of the cybersecurity activities and processes institutionalized by an organization.”
A third-party body must now assess the certifications.
Probably one of the CMMC’s most impactful criteria is that approved and impartial third-party qualified organizations must assess the certifications. These agencies would score the contractors’ compliance with the CMMC at rates varying from one to five, with a five being the most advanced from a cybersecurity point of view. While it is also important to establish the requirements and accreditation for organizations to be accredited auditors, according to the CMMC report, higher-level evaluations can be carried out by organic DoD assessors within the Military, the Defense Contract Management Agency or the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Different rates of sophistication are given.
A complexity level assessment varying from level 1 (“Basic Cyber Hygiene”) to level 5 (“Advanced / Progressive”) would be the outcome of the CMMC certification phase.
Important things to know about CMMC
You should already be at Level 1
Level 1 follows the criteria of FAR 52.204-21 and will be fulfilled by all government contractors. Each of these 17 safeguards is simple cybersecurity and reflect the minimum requirements every contractor would have implemented already.
CMMC is great for the sector
As well as the apparent necessity to safeguard our military edge and maintain our intellectual property, CMMC will establish a clear standard that would guarantee that all contractors make significant technology investments. That would even out the playing area with those who are already doing the best things.
Aim for Level 3 compliance
When you keep some federal records (or generate evidence) about the results of the contracts, you are likely to carry Federal Contract Data (FCI) and potentially hold Unclassified Compliance Information (CUI). When you store, handle, or transfer CUI, you’ll need a Level 3 certification minimum. Even, if you keep export regulated (i.e. ITAR) info, it is called CUI and would be subject to at least level 3 and additional data sovereignty rules relevant to ITAR. On a side note, the CMMC rules are not yet explicit about what form of data counts on Level 4 or Level 5.