On October 11, the government released the final program rule of the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0. This means that businesses now have all of the information they need to start planning for the implementation of the new model next year.
What exactly do all of these new regulations mean for your business? Do you need to comply? How do you complete a CMMC assessment? We have answers to these questions and more in today’s overview of CMMC 2.0.
CMMC 2.0 Basics
The purpose of CMMC 2.0 is to revamp the requirements for companies who have Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and align them more closely with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requirements.
Companies who work with federal contract information (FCI), or controlled unclassified information (CUI), are required to be CMMC compliant in order to prevent the corruption or loss of data.
The original CMMC regulations included five levels, each necessary for handling different kinds of information. The new 2.0 model has only three levels, with the goal of making compliance simpler for SMBs.
For example, in order to handle basic FCI, companies only need to achieve CMMC level 1 compliance; meanwhile, in order to handle CUI, companies must achieve CMMC level 2 compliance by providing additional protections requiring an in-depth information security program and regular security control reviews. Level 2 requires DoD contractors to hire a Certified Third Party Assessor to prove compliance has been implemented and continues to be enforced.
Preparing for a CMMC Assessment
The government plans to begin enforcement of CMMC 2.0 compliance starting mid-2025. With this deadline in mind, it’s wise to start preparing for your CMMC assessment now if you haven’t already. Some contracts and levels require just a self-assessment, but more sensitive and large dollar value projects may require an assessment from a third-party or the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center (DIBCAC).
In these assessments, you must provide evidence that you’re implementing the necessary cybersecurity measures for your required level. Here’s a basic overview of regulations:
Level 1: Foundational
Basic cybersecurity practices are summarized in 17 practices, such as access controls and authentication, physical security, communications protection, and data integrity.
Level 2: Advanced
Practices are aligned with NIST 800-171 regulations and include 110 practices, covering 320 assessment objectives, including incident response and recovery plans, risk management procedures, employee awareness training, and assessmenting schedules.
Level 3: Expert
Requirements build on and expand level 2 requirements and align with NIST 800-172. They include measures like secured data transfer channels, automated system inventories, additional authentication controls for network connections, protection against APTs, etc.
Understanding your contract, what kind of assessment you need, and which level you need to achieve can be challenging, so we recommend working with professional compliance specialists who have experience working with DoD contracts and CMMC. They can help you ensure that your company is prepared for a CMMC assessment and able to meet the necessary standards.
Why Become CMMC 2.0 Compliant?
In order to maintain or secure a DoD contract, your organization must acquire the proper level of CMMC 2.0, but why exactly are these cybersecurity measures important? Besides allowing you to pass your CMMC assessment, these requirements also make your business more secure, ethical, and trustworthy:
- Support national security and government efforts by protecting sensitive information
- Stay ahead of evolving threats
- Achieve CMMC 2.0 compliance more simply while staying accountable for handling controlled data
- Creating a nation-wide culture of cyber safety and resilience
- Preserve relationships and promote trust among clients and the public by demonstrating concern for privacy and security
Stay On Top of CMMC 2.0 Compliance With Brightline
At Brightline IT, we understand how complicated and stressful compliance can be, especially when you’re working to obtain government contracts. Luckily, we’re experts when it comes to interpreting contracts and preparing for CMMC assessments, and we have years of experience helping companies like yours make compliance simple. For a comprehensive CMMC consultation, just fill out our form. We’ll be in touch soon.
