Why is CMMC important for Government Contractors?
Government contractors that do not have CMMC certification could be unable to win certain new contracts or re-compete opportunities in the future, which could hurt your revenue and bottom line.
Cybersecurity is a critical issue these days, and government created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) to provide government contractors with a framework for managing cybersecurity risks within their business. Starting in 2023, government contractors working with the Department of Defense will need to provide proof of CMMC compliance in order to bid on contractors and work with the DoD. Now is the time to seek CMMC certification to ensure your government contracting business complies with new cybersecurity compliance requirements.
Many government contractors are unaware of what CMMC is, why it is important and how to get CMMC certified. That’s why Advanced Assessment Academy created a comprehensive certification course available online, in-person or virtually.
Click here to learn more about our course CMMC for Federal Government Contractors.
What is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC?)
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC for short, is an assessment framework and assessor certification program designed to increase the trust in measures of compliance to a variety of standards published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The CMMC program aligns to the Department of Defense’s cybersecurity requirements for government contractors in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and was designed to enforce protection of sensitive unclassified information that is shared by the DoD with its contractors and subcontractors.
The primary objective of CMMC is to validate safeguards and practices among DIB government contractors to provide increased assurance that contractors and subcontractors are meeting cybersecurity requirements when working with the DoD. Specifically, CMMC is designed to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI) and federal contract information (FCI).
Before CMMC was implemented, DoD contractors were required to complete the NIST 800-171 checklist, but the NIST checklist was more of a “check the box” exercise that basically outlined recommended best practices and was not a requirement for winning DoD contracts and subcontracts. As a result, many DoD contractors and subcontractors did not complete the checklist so the DoD created a compliance framework to ensure that contractors are mandated to have certain cybersecurity measures in place before they can win contracts with the Department of Defense.
Originally, CMMC was supposed to be implemented in 2020, but was delayed due to the global pandemic. Since then, the DoD has updated the original framework, CMMC 1.0, and created the CMMC 2.0 program to reinforce the importance of cybersecurity for DIB contractors to ensure our military and information remains safe from cyber attacks.
If you are a DoD contractor or contractor and need CMMC certification, click here to register for our CMMC for Federal Contractors course, which is available online or in-person.
What are the CMMC Compliance Levels?
CMMC has three Compliance Levels that prime contractors and subcontractors will be required to conform with, and the CMMC level will be highlighted in the contract. If you are a subcontractor, your prime contractor is required to inform you of the Compliance Level your company must meet. Most contractors will require Compliance Level 1 or Level 2.
If you are a contractor and your contract is for Commercial Off-the-Shelf products, then CMMC does not apply to you. If your company will receive exclusively Federal Contract Information (FCI) from the contract, then you will need a CMMC Level 1 implementation and you will be required to submit an annual self-assessment. However, if you receive FCI and CUI, then you will be required to achieve CMMC Level 2 compliance. This set of contractors will be managing and accessing information or data critical to national security, which requires you to work with a 3rd party assessor (3PAO). If you don’t handle critical information, you will be allowed to simply perform and submit an annual self assessment.
CMMC 2.0 Compliance Levels
