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CMMC-Compliant Secure File Sharing: How to Protect CUI Effectively

by Danielle Barbour updated October 21, 2025 CMMC Compliance

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Defense contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) are required to comply with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). Compliance is critical: failure to meet CMMC requirements can lead to lost contracts, financial penalties, and reputational damage. Non-compliance exposes sensitive defense data to breaches and can compromise national security.

Because of these high stakes, the market for CMMC-compliant secure file sharing and transfer solutions is crowded, with numerous vendors like Virtru, PreVeil, Sharetru, FileCloud, and others competing to provide tools that help defense contractors collaborate securely with the DoD while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Table of Contents

This post explains how organizations can protect CUI, follow best practices, mitigate risks, and leverage a unified solution like Kiteworks to meet nearly 90% of CMMC Level 2 requirements out of the box. Readers will gain insights into key features, technology options, and governance strategies for managing secure communications efficiently and compliantly.

Executive Summary

Main Idea: Kiteworks provides secure, compliant file sharing and file transfer solutions that address most CMMC Level 2 requirements out of the box.

Why You Should Care: Effective CUI protection reduces audit failures, data breaches, and reputational risks while simplifying compliance management.

Key Takeaways

Kiteworks covers nearly 90% of CMMC Level 2 requirements: Prebuilt compliance features reduce audit preparation and support governance.
FedRAMP Moderate and High Ready authorization: Ensures federal security controls and simplifies reporting.
FIPS 140-3 Level 1 validated encryption: Protects CUI during file transfer and file sharing.
Centralized governance and monitoring: Streamlines oversight across multiple communication channels.
Secure Web Forms: Safely collect sensitive information from external partners while maintaining compliance.

Best Practices for Secure File Sharing and CUI Protection

Effective CUI protection requires a combination of technology, processes, and governance. Key best practices include:

Best Practices Table

Best Practice	Why It Matters
Access controls	Limit CUI access to authorized personnel only, reducing risk of accidental disclosure or insider threats.
Role-based (RBAC) and attribute-based access controls (ABAC)	Fine-grained permissions prevent unauthorized access and simplify compliance reporting.
Advanced encryption methods	Ensure data at rest and in transit meets federal standards for confidentiality.
Audit logs	Maintain traceable records of all CUI activity to support CMMC compliance audits.
Zero Trust Architecture	Continuously verify user and device identity, limiting exposure from compromised accounts.
Secure Web Forms	Safely collect sensitive information from partners or vendors while maintaining compliance.
Centralized governance	Streamlines monitoring, reporting, and policy enforcement across multiple communication channels.

Risks of Neglecting Compliance

Risks Table

Risk	Potential Impact
Audit failures	Losing contracts or facing corrective actions from C3PAOs.
Data breaches	Exposure of CUI due to insufficient encryption, access controls, or governance.
Operational inefficiency	Manual compliance tracking and disconnected solutions increase administrative overhead.
Reputational damage	Failure to meet CMMC compliance expectations can affect relationships with the DoD and supply chain partners.

How Kiteworks Supports CMMC-Compliant Secure File Sharing

FedRAMP Moderate and High Ready authorization – Demonstrates compliance with federal security controls and reduces audit preparation time.
FIPS 140-3 Level 1 validated encryption – Meets federal cryptographic standards to protect CUI during file transfer and secure file sharing.
Out-of-the-box coverage of ~90% of CMMC Level 2 requirements – Simplifies compliance with prebuilt controls, audit logs, and reporting capabilities.
Centralized governance and monitoring – Consolidates CUI communication channels for simplified oversight and audit-readiness.
Secure Web Forms – Collect CUI safely from external partners while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Kiteworks: The Best Solution for CUI Protection and CMMC Compliance

Protecting CUI is critical for defense contractors. Failure to comply with CMMC Level 2 can result in lost contracts, financial penalties, and reputational harm.

Kiteworks provides a unified solution that addresses compliance, security, and operational efficiency through:

Adopting Kiteworks ensures organizations can securely share and transfer CUI, simplify audits, and maintain readiness for CMMC compliance.

To learn more about protecting CUI in compliance with CMMC 2.0, schedule a custom demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kiteworks allows organizations to share CUI securely through secure file sharing, SFTP, email, or secure web forms while maintaining CMMC compliance.

Kiteworks employs FIPS 140-3 Level 1 validated encryption and supports advanced encryption methods to ensure data is secure at rest and in transit.

Kiteworks provides prebuilt mappings covering ~90% of CMMC Level 2 requirements, integrated audit logs, and centralized governance, reducing the effort needed for documentation, assessment, and audit readiness.

Yes. By consolidating communications and maintaining a centralized audit trail, Kiteworks simplifies audit preparation and enables quick reporting for CMMC compliance.

Absolutely. Kiteworks supports secure managed file transfer, secure mobile file sharing, and secure email while maintaining end-to-end encryption and CMMC compliance.

Additional Resources