How to Be Ready by the CMMC Compliance Deadline
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a cybersecurity certification introduced by the Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure the protection of electronic data, especially in businesses doing business with the federal government.
In recent years, cyber threats have become more sophisticated and dangerous; that’s why the DoD is working to ensure companies can be prepared.
In this article, we’re going to cover:
- What CMMC is in detail
- Why it’s important for companies to implement CMMC
- Compliance requirements for CMMC levels
- How to assess your organization’s CMMC posture
- How to prepare for a CMMC audit
Let’s get started and learn more about the CMMC first.
What is the CMMC?
As mentioned before, the CMMC is a certification set forth by the DoD. It’s essentially a set of requirements with the goal of helping organizations protect their information systems and sensitive data. The CMMC was created to ensure that organizations are not only compliant with existing security regulations but also to implement additional security measures to protect their networks and data from cyber threats.
According to Statista, the global cost of cybercrime in 2022 is estimated to be $8.4 trillion. To put that in perspective, that’s almost half of the GDP of the United States ($19.49 trillion).
CMMC requires organizations to adopt best practices in cybersecurity that can be tailored to their specific needs. It covers five domains, which are:
- Access control
- Asset management
- Configuration management
- Media protection
- System security
Each of these domains contains multiple security processes that must be met in order for an organization’s network to be considered secure. These domains are designed to help protect an organization’s assets from unauthorized access or modification.
What Are the CMMC Requirements?
The requirements for each level of certification are outlined in the official CMMC document. Organizations must assess their current security posture against the requirements outlined in this document and implement any necessary changes or improvements in order to become compliant with CMMC standards.
The CMMC model is changing from 1.0 to 2.0. The first version of the CMMC had five levels. These are:
- Level 1: Basic cyber hygiene
- Level 2: Intermediate cyber hygiene
- Level 3: Good cyber hygiene
- Level 4: Proactive
- Level 5: Advanced/progressive
CMMC 2.0 is streamlining and combining a few of these levels. The model for CMMC 2.0 is as follows:
- Level 1: Basic cyber hygiene
- Level 2: Good cyber hygiene
- Level 3: Advanced/progressive
Level 1 requires organizations to have basic cyber hygiene practices in place. Level 2 requires good cyber hygiene. And Level 3 requires them to have a comprehensive system for continuously monitoring and responding to cyber threats.
Let’s learn how to become compliant with these CMMC levels next.
How to Become CMMC Compliant
Organizations can become compliant with CMMC standards by ensuring they have met all of the relevant requirements outlined in the official document. This may involve implementing new security policies and procedures or investing in new technologies such as encryption solutions or user authentication solutions.
Each level has its own requirements. For example, Level 1 has 59 objectives that need to be met. Both FAR 52.204-21 and NIST SP800-171 rev 2 are sources for compliance.
To learn more about what’s required for each CMMC Level, read our article titled What are the CMMC Compliance Levels?.
In the next section, we’ll discuss why obtaining a CMMC is critical for defense contractors who do business with the government.
Why Should I Care About CMMC?
To put it plainly: Defense contractors may be required to obtain a certain CMMC level for business with the government.
For example, if the government requires a Level 1 certification, contractors who wish to win the work will need to be Level 1 certified. Besides winning work with the government, CMMC is important for organizations that want to increase their cyber defense posture.
Additionally, having a solid cybersecurity posture enables organizations to demonstrate compliance with federal regulations such as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which requires government contractors and other entities working with government agencies to meet certain standards when handling sensitive information.
Preparing for a CMMC Audit
Preparing for a CMMC audit can be daunting, but with certain steps and processes in place, you can address any deficiencies and be ready for an audit with confidence.
To have the right perspective, remember this: The government essentially wants to ensure you can control and protect sensitive data. If you can do that, you’re on the right track for an audit.
First, analyze your current cybersecurity posture: evaluate cybersecurity configuration elements, architectures and associated policies against the CMMC model. Then use the results of this analysis to identify areas of deficiency (both technical and organizational).
Once identified, take corrective action within reasonable timeframes through policy management and compliance training. Investigation tools can help identify rogue devices or malicious activity on the network, which should then be immediately remediated to address potential penalties or losses before the audit is conducted.
Conducting periodic internal scans where applicable and interacting with competent external professionals about compliance also helps clear up any lingering doubts. Ultimately, if you have taken all the necessary precautions along the way, an audit will be successful.
For more reading on preparing for a CMMC audit, read our article titled 6 Key Things to Look for in Your CMMC Audit.
Contact Red River for CMMC Assistance
Getting CMMC may seem like a daunting take. To be honest, it is. But we’re here to help.
The experts at Red River can provide help and advice when it comes to the CMMC compliance certification. And we can help you get ready for the CMMC compliance deadline. We’re only a couple of years away from CMMC 2.0; therefore, it’s important to prepare for it now.
Head over to our contact page to get in touch with us next.
