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Ready for CMMC? Gauge Your CMMC Readiness With This CMMC Assessment Guide

by Danielle Barbour updated December 15, 2023 CMMC Compliance

Reading Time: 8 minutes

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a crucial requirement for all organizations that wish to do business with the Department of Defense (DoD). CMMC compliance is intended to ensure the protection of federal contract information and controlled unclassified information. To do business with the DoD, one must prove that they have the systems and measures in place to protect this type of essential information.

CMMC 2.0 Compliance Roadmap for DoD Contractors

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Gauging your organization’s CMMC readiness therefore becomes crucial in if your organization wishes to secure or maintain contracts with the DoD. This guide will assist you in assessing your readiness for CMMC, ensuring that your organization can demonstrate compliance effectively, and continue securing DoD contracts without any risks of non-compliance.

The CMMC certification process is arduous but our CMMC 2.0 compliance roadmap can help.

An Overview of CMMC 2.0

CMMC originated as a method to standardize and enforce cybersecurity practices across all DoD contractors. The recently updated version, CMMC 2.0, refines the original framework to be more streamlined and scalable. These changes are designed to reduce some of the burdens on small and medium-sized businesses, and those not handling controlled unclassified information; without compromising the high standards of cybersecurity needed to protect our national security.

All DoD contractors, regardless of their level in the supply chain, must comply with CMMC 2.0 to compete for and win defense contracts. Non-compliance is not an option, as it poses significant risks not only to US national security, but also to the viability of a defense contractor’s business. Specifically, non-compliance poses a threat to national security by creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious cyber entities. Secondly, failure to demonstrate CMMC compliance can lead to severe financial penalties as contractors may lose their eligibility to bid for DoD contracts.

The Certification Process

The certification process for CMMC 2.0 is rigorous and requires impacted organizations to demonstrate maturity and capability in enforcing a wide array of cybersecurity practices and processes. The assessment focuses on various areas of cybersecurity like Access Control, Identification and Authentication, and Risk Management. The process includes the preparation phase, the assessment phase, the adjudication phase, and finally, the award of the certification.

At each stage of the process, there is a need for meticulous documentation and evidence to demonstrate compliance. The better prepared your organizations is for the certification process, the smoother the process. This preparation not only involves the implementation of cybersecurity practices but also the documentation and evidentiary support for the assessment.

Gauging Your CMMC Readiness: The CMMC Assessment Guide

Proper preparation not only increases your chances of obtaining the certification but also helps you avoid costly and time-consuming rework. This CMMC Assessment Guide provides a checklist of items you should meet to prepare for CMMC certification. It serves as both a pre-assessment tool and a best practices guide to facilitate your CMMC journey.

While the following checklist is not exhaustive, it provides a solid starting point to gauge your readiness for the certification process. It is important to note that the criteria should be met consistently over time to demonstrate the maturity of your practices.

1. Understand your Covered Defense Information (CDI)

Before your organization can actively protect data, it’s important to have a comprehensive understanding of what the data entails. Note: CMMC requirements are not universally applicable; instead, they specifically aim at the systems and networks that house this pertinent information. This inventory of data should not be confined to digital data alone; it should also encompass hard copy records.

Drawing up a detailed inventory is the first step in ensuring that your data is effectively controlled and safeguarded. Having gained a comprehensive perspective of your CDI, you must then turn your attention towards guaranteeing that appropriate protective measures are put into action. Implementing stringent safeguards is paramount to ensure the safety of your data and to keep it out of the reach of unauthorized individuals. These protective measures should certainly include strict access controls, encryption, and secure storage solutions.

2. Implement a System Security Plan (SSP)

A System Security Plan (SSP) is a key requirement of the CMMC and serves as your roadmap for cybersecurity. It details your current cybersecurity practices, planned improvements, and the timeline for these improvements. It provides a way of documenting and communicating your cybersecurity plan both internally and with the DoD.

The SSP should be a living document that is regularly updated, and it should address how each of the controls in the CMMC framework is met. A well-maintained SSP demonstrates your continuous commitment to improving your cybersecurity posture.

3. Implement Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Safeguards

Implementing safeguards for your CUI requires a comprehensive understanding of the CMMC requirements. These safeguards include formal policies and procedures, physical security measures, and technical controls, such as firewalls, IDS, and encryption.

Showing robust coverage of your CUI environment demonstrates your commitment to protecting sensitive information from cyber threats. It also shows that you are ready to meet the rigorous requirements of the CMMC certification process.

4. Conduct Employee Training and Awareness

Security awareness training for employees is a must in ensuring the successful implementation of cybersecurity protocols. Your staff should be familiar with the proper handling of sensitive data, applicable laws and regulations, and your internal cybersecurity policies. They should also be capable of identifying and reporting potential threats.

Raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and your company’s responsibilities can significantly reduce the risk of human errors that could lead to security breaches. A well-trained workforce serves as your first line of defense against cyber threats, and this could benefit your CMMC certification process.

5. Establish Incident Response and Recovery Mechanisms

Having a robust incident response and recovery plan in place is crucial. This involves documenting steps to be taken when a cybersecurity incident occurs, including identifying and analyzing the incident, containing and eradicating the threat, and recovering from the incident. It also includes a plan to communicate with stakeholders during and after an incident.

Being able to demonstrate a mature incident response and recovery plan can potentially influence your CMMC maturity level, and moreover, showcase your organization’s readiness to handle and recover from cyber threats efficiently.

6. Assess Compliance and Pursue Continuous Improvement

Assessment and continuous improvement are key aspects of CMMC certification. Your organization should have mechanisms in place to assess compliance with cybersecurity practices, identify gaps, and plan for improvements. This includes periodic audits and reviews of your cybersecurity posture.

Consistently striving for improvements, and showing evidence of such efforts, can lead to a successful CMMC certification process. They demonstrate the maturity of your practices and readiness to meet the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

7. Establish Network and System Security Measures

Having reliable network and system security measures in place is vital. This involves secure configuration, boundary defense, secure network architecture, and more. Of course, these measures should be consistent with the CMMC framework.

Being successful in this area provides assurance that your network and systems are secured against threats, thus showing readiness for the CMMC assessment.

8. Apply Data Protection to All Sensitive Content

Efficient and effective data protection measures ought to encompass a number of key elements. First, use encryption to transform plain text data into an unreadable format, making it difficult for unauthorized users to access and understand. Second, leverage secure data transfer techniques to protect data while it is being moved from one location to another, reducing the risk of data leaks or data theft. Finally, follow secure disposal methods when data is no longer needed, ensuring that discarded information can’t be retrieved or used maliciously.

In addition, it’s imperative that all your data protection initiatives are compliant with CMMC guidelines. This entails maintaining a thorough and ongoing understanding of this evolving framework, being aware of updates and ensuring that your security measures meet their standards.

9. Practice Vendor Risk Management

When organizations choose to outsource some of their operations to third-party vendors, it is crucially important that they monitor and assess these external partners’ observance of CMMC requirements. Vendor risk management involves a thorough evaluation of the vendors’ cybersecurity policies and procedures, ensuring that they consistently adhere to the industry’s best practices in data protection.

This risk assessment needs to be carried out on a regular basis, not just during the initial vendor selection process. Cybersecurity threats and technologies continually evolve, which means that a vendor’s systems and practices that were secure one year may not necessarily be secure the following year. Consequently, frequent and detailed risk assessments are necessary to ensure continued compliance and protection.

In addition, the CMMC sets specific standards that apply to both the organization and its vendors, particularly with regard to controlled unclassified information (CUI). Therefore, the control measures put in place by third-party vendors must be orderly and robust enough to protect the organization’s CUI. These control measures include firewalls, data encryption techniques, regular updates and patches to systems and networks, as well as robust access controls.

10. Ensure Adequate Resources and Sufficient Budget

Implementing cybersecurity practices and getting CMMC certification requires resources and budgeting. As such, have a plan in place to allocate adequate resources for your cybersecurity efforts, including staffing, tools, training, and certification costs.

Having a strategic budget allocation for cybersecurity emphasizes your commitment to meeting the CMMC requirements and readiness for the certification process.

Kiteworks Helps Defense Contractors Demonstrate CMMC Compliance With a Private Content Network

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification offers an exceptional opportunity for your organization to demonstrate its commitment to cybersecurity best practices, which is pivotal in securing defense contracts. By thoroughly understanding what is expected in the CMMC certification process and ensuring readiness in line with the provided checklist, your organization stands an excellent chance of earning this prestigious certification.

Remember, readiness for the CMMC is not just about meeting the requirements; it is about continually improving your cybersecurity posture. In the end, the CMMC certification process is less about achieving a certificate and more about ensuring your organization’s processes and practices are mature enough to safeguard national security and your business operations.

The Kiteworks Private Content Network, a FIPS 140-2 Level validated secure file sharing and file transfer platform, consolidates email, file sharing, web forms, SFTP and managed file transfer, so organizations control, protect, and track every file as it enters and exits the organization.

Kiteworks supports nearly 90% of CMMC 2.0 Level 2 requirements out of the box. As a result, DoD contractors and subcontractors can accelerate their CMMC 2.0 Level 2 accreditation process by ensuring they have the right sensitive content communications platform in place.

With Kiteworks, DoD contractors and subcontractors unify their sensitive content communications into a dedicated Private Content Network, leveraging automated policy controls and tracking and cybersecurity protocols that align with CMMC 2.0 practices.

Kiteworks enables rapid CMMC 2.0 compliance with core capabilities and features including:

Certification with key U.S. government compliance standards and requirements, including SSAE-16/SOC 2, NIST SP 800-171, and NIST SP 800-172
FIPS 140-2 Level 1 validation
FedRAMP Authorized for Moderate Impact Level CUI
AES 256-bit encryption for data at rest, TLS 1.2 for data in transit, and sole encryption key ownership

Kiteworks deployment options include on-premises, hosted, private, hybrid, and FedRAMP virtual private cloud. With Kiteworks: control access to sensitive content; protect it when it’s shared externally using automated end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and security infrastructure integrations; see, track, and report all file activity, namely who sends what to whom, when, and how. Finally demonstrate compliance with regulations and standards like GDPR, HIPAA, CMMC, Cyber Essentials Plus, IRAP, and many more.

To learn more about Kiteworks, schedule a custom demo today.

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