7 Things to Know About CMMC Compliance

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) has been discussed and debated at length. With so many different opinions, it’s challenging to know what you should be doing to comply with its guidelines and requirements.

This CMMC compliance guide will provide an overview of the most critical aspects of CMMC and then offer some practical guidance for your organization.

What is CMMC Compliance?

CMMC is a certification that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requires for businesses that work with the federal government and handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). A CMMC certification helps ensure your organization has the right cybersecurity policies and procedures to protect sensitive data from being hacked or lost. It also ensures you meet compliance requirements set forth by federal agencies such as NASA and the DHS Cyber Security Division.

The CMMC program requires a contractor to undergo an audit and be assessed against a series of cybersecurity best practices. Below are seven things you should know about CMMC.

1. Going Through the CMMC Compliance Process Requires Resources

The CMMC assessment and certification is a slow and gradual process that cannot just be completed overnight. It requires a lot of work and resources from your organization. You can’t simply hire a third-party to complete the process for you.

The CMMC compliance process can take months or even years, depending on your organization’s size and scope. This commitment requires patience and long-term investment from your company and its stakeholders.

2. Compliance Must Be Maintained for The Duration of the Contract

This is because lapses can result in fines or loss of business opportunities. If a contract lasts for two years, then your organization must keep up with all the security guidelines of the CMMC until the end of the contract. If your organization is found to be non-compliant during an audit, then your organization might be penalized.

However, it must be noted that failing an audit is not exactly a death sentence. If you fail the audit, don’t panic. It doesn’t mean your contract with the government is over right away; however, you need to take corrective action and pass the audit next time.

A certified third-party assessor, or the C3PAO, will work with you on finding solutions to your problems and help you pass the audit so that the government can continue working with you. You won’t be disqualified from future contracts because of a failed audit, but you do have to make adjustments.

3. Compliance Relies on Audits Made by Third Parties

Companies that desire to be CMMC-compliant have to undergo a third-party audit of their cybersecurity practices. This is where the C3PAO comes in. These third-party auditors will conduct interviews with employees, review documentation, and conduct on-site assessments. Auditors also help companies identify weaknesses in their systems and work towards improving them before external regulators find out about them.

4. CMMC Compliance Covers three Levels of Cyber Maturity

Recently, CMMC 1.0 has been replaced by CMMC 2.0, with the reduction of levels from five to three as the main change. Now, the CMMC covers three levels of cyber maturity (L1 to L3), with L1 being the most basic stage of compliance. The higher the level, the more sophisticated the cyber security measures and requirements are.

The following are the three levels of CMMC compliance you should be familiar with:

Level 1 (Foundational): This is the lowest level of compliance for CMMC 2.0, and it consists of 17 basic cyber security practices, including the implementation of basic Access Controls and Identity and Authentication. At this stage, your organization should focus on safeguarding Federal Contract Information (FCI). This refers to data that shouldn’t be publicly released but that’s provided for the government under an agreement to develop a product or service for the government. This excludes information provided by the government to the public, such as public websites and transactional information. Unlike the other levels, Level 1 doesn’t need a third-party assessment, as it doesn’t involve more confidential data, like sensitive natural security information.
Level 2 (Advanced): This level goes further in tightening the overall security practices of your organization. At this stage, your organization’s primary objective is to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). It refers to government-owned information that necessitates dissemination controls or safeguarding that’s in accordance with applicable laws and government-wide policies. By complying with Level 2, you would be able to give the DoD assurance that your organization has the ability to provide adequate protection for CUI.
Level 3 (Expert): This level is essentially the combined levels 4 and 5 of the CMMC 1.0. At this stage, your organization should pay attention to reducing the risk and improving the effectiveness of safeguarding CUI against Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). This means Level 3 mandates your organization to check and measure your security controls over time to know how effective they are and to provide corrective action whenever necessary.

Compliance with CMMC requires serious consideration of the levels mentioned above. However, it’s important to note that leveling up is not required for all organizations. As long as your company can meet the standards stated in the contract, then it’s good to go.

5. Companies That Handle Sensitive Data Will Also Need to Comply With CMMC

Private partners and contractors of the DoD are not the only ones that need to comply with CMMC. Companies that handle sensitive data will need to comply with CMMC as well.

Sensitive data includes a wide range of information, including financial details such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and Social Security Numbers. It also includes health care information like medical records, health insurance claims, biometric data, passwords, or other unique identifying characteristics (such as fingerprints).

6. CMMC Compliance Can Help Level the Playing Field in the Public Sector

When you think of government contracts and cybersecurity, two things come to mind: red team alerts and companies that are favored over others. Red team alerts are when a government agency gives a contract to a company that has lower security standards than another company that might have better cybersecurity practices. This means smaller businesses can’t compete with larger ones because they don’t have enough resources or money to meet the requirements set by the agency and other laws.

But with CMMC compliance, all companies can compete on equal terms—they simply have different levels of Risk Mitigation Strategies (RMS) set up for them depending on how much money they want to spend on cybersecurity measures.

7. CMMC Doesn’t Mean You’re Compliant with Other Security Standards

You can be CMMC-certified and not ISO 27001 compliant, or vice versa. CMMC is a set of cybersecurity practices, while ISO 27001 develops its own set of international standards. Compliance with one doesn’t mean you’re automatically compliant with the other.

Wrapping Up

If your organization is planning to work with the government and handle sensitive or classified information, then it’s best to prepare the necessary tools, documents, and processes that you need to implement under the requirements and guidelines set by the CMMC

Remember that to be compliant, your organization must have a plan and follow it. You also need to ensure your employees are aware of the policies so they can stay vigilant and take appropriate action in case of a possible breach.

Derek White

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Should you intend to create or to join any service, receive or request any such news, messages, alerts or other information from our Services concerning companies, stock quotes, investments or securities, please review the above Sections Warranty Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability again. In addition, for this particular type of information, the phrase “Let the investor beware” is appropriate. American Publishing, LLC’s content is provided primarily for informational purposes, and no content that shall be provided or included in our Services is intended for trading or investing purposes. American Publishing, LLC and our licensors shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any information transmitted and/or made available by way of our Services, and shall not be responsible or liable for any trading and/or investment decisions based on any such information.

EXCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS
THERE ARE SOME JURISDICTIONS WHICH DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OF EXCLUSION OF LAIBILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. THEREFORE, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF SECTIONS WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES
You herein acknowledge, understand and agree, unless otherwise expressly provided in this TOS, that there shall be third-party beneficiaries to this agreement.

NOTICE
American Publishing, LLC may furnish you with notices, including those with regards to any changes to the TOS, including but not limited to email, regular mail, MMS or SMS, text messaging, postings on our website Services, or other reasonable means currently known or any which may be herein after developed. Any such notices may not be received if you violate any aspects of the TOS by accessing our Services in an unauthorized manner. Your acceptance of this TOS constitutes your agreement that you are deemed to have received any and all notices that would have been delivered had you accessed our Services in an authorized manner.

TRADEMARK INFORMATION
You herein acknowledge, understand and agree that all of the American Publishing, LLC trademarks, copyright, trade name, service marks, and other American Publishing, LLC logos and any brand features, and/or product and service names are trademarks and as such, are and shall remain the property of American Publishing, LLC. You herein agree not to display and/or use in any manner the American Publishing, LLC logo or marks.

COPYRIGHT OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS NOTICE
& PROCEDURES
American Publishing, LLC will always respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask that all of our users to the same. With regards to appropriate circumstances and at its sole discretion, American Publishing, LLC may disable and/or terminate the accounts of any user who repeatedly violates our TOS and/or infringes the rights of others. If you feel that your work has been duplicated in such a way that would constitute copyright infringement, or if you believe your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, you should provide to us the following information:
a) The electronic or the physical signature of the individual that is authorized on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
b) A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you believe has been
infringed upon;
c) A description of the location of the site which you allege has been infringing upon your work;
d) The physical address, telephone number, and email address;
e) A statement, in which you state that the alleged and disputed use of your work is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agents or the law;
f) And finally, a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the aforementioned information in your notice is the truth and accurate, and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner, representative or agent authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf. The American Publishing, LLC Agent for notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement can be contacted as follows:
Mailing Address:
American Publishing, LLC
Attn: Copyright Agent
17 Hoff Court, Suite B
Baltimore, Maryland 21221
Telephone: 443.231.7438
Fax: 410.238.2835
Email: karen.austin@uscybersecurity.net
CLOSED CAPTIONING
BE IT KNOWN, that American Publishing, LLC complies with all applicable Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations regarding the closed captioning of video content. For more information, please visit our website at www.uscybersecurity.net.

GENERAL INFORMATION
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This TOS constitutes the entire agreement between you and American Publishing, LLC and shall govern the use of our Services, superseding any prior version of this TOS between you and us with respect to American Publishing, LLC Services. You may also be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase certain other American Publishing, LLC Services, affiliate Services, third-party content or third-party software.

CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM
It is at the mutual agreement of both you and American Publishing, LLC with regard to the TOS that the relationship between the parties shall be governed by the laws of the state of Maryland without regard to its conflict of law provisions and that any and all claims, causes of action and/or disputes, arising out of or relating to the TOS, or the relationship between you and American Publishing, LLC, shall be filed within the courts having jurisdiction within the County of Baltimore, Maryland or the U.S. District Court located in said state. You and American Publishing, LLC agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts as previously mentioned, and agree to waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over the parties by such courts and to venue in such courts.

WAIVER AND SEVERABILITY OF TERMS
At any time, should American Publishing, LLC fail to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOS, such failure shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this TOS is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the TOS remain in full force and effect.

NO RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP NON-TRANSFERABILITY
You acknowledge, understand and agree that your account is non-transferable and any rights to your ID and/or contents within your account shall terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
You acknowledge, understand and agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or action arising out of or related to the use of our Services or the TOS must be filed within year(s) after said claim or cause of action arose or shall be forever barred.

VIOLATIONS
Please report any and all violations of this TOS to American Publishing, LLC as follows:
Mailing Address:
American Publishing, LLC
Attn: Copyright Agent
17 Hoff Court, Suite B
Baltimore, Maryland 21221
Telephone: 443.231.7438
Fax: 410.238.2835
Email: karen.austin@uscybersecurity.net

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