Three Ways Contractors Can Master the Information Security Compliance Program

By Sarala Vanga On Feb 12, 2021

Suppose you’re a contractor or a commercial supplier working with the Department of Defense (DoD). In that case, you’re already complying with US federal regulatory guidelines for securing sensitive government data that’s on your system. You’ve also probably never been visited by representatives of the DoD to check your IT systems’ efficiency when it comes to securing sensitive government data. These self-certification models (that don’t work) are set to change forever with the launch of the Cyber security Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

The DoD released the new Cyber security Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) in January 2020. All contractors, vendors, commercial suppliers, subcontractors, and small businesses applying for DoD contracts in the second half of 2020 will have to abide by the CMMC standards of cyber security if they want to qualify. The CMMC is the most robust cyber security framework globally, so it’s wrong to expect total CMMC implementation before 2025. But, several leading contractors are already taking steps to become CMMC compliant.

Why Contractors are Rushing to Become Compliant

Severe National Security Threats

The CMMC is the DoD’s most ambitious and noteworthy step towards attaining high degrees of cyber security across its supply chain. Contractors need to be compliant as quickly as possible because there are severe cyber security risks that the DoD faces at the moment. Every year, the country loses data worth billions to foreign cyber criminals. A lot of this data is stolen from unsuspecting DoD contractors.

Absolute Industrial Shift

The CMMC isn’t just designed to improve data protection and boost the cyber security measures of DoD contractors; it also aims to shift industrial attitudes towards data security. In the future, non-compliant DoD contractors will have to face serious penalties, including loss of brand value, inability to qualify for future DoD contracts, and severe personal and corporate liabilities.

Audits are Coming

In the past, contractors would self-evaluate their IT systems and label themselves as ‘compliant’ or ‘compliant enough’ to handle sensitive government information. The CMMC now makes it mandatory for every contractor, vendor, commercial supplier, subcontractor, or small business dealing with DoD contracts to go through audits. They’ll be audited by third-party CMMC compliance companies in order to “pre-qualify” for DoD contracts.

Attaining CMMC Certification

All DoD contracts will have CMMC pre-qualification criteria. Hence, all contractors, vendors, commercial suppliers, subcontractors, and small businesses planning to bid for DoD contracts first need to be CMMC-certified.

A Lifelong Journey

Most importantly, CMMC certification processes are set to be lifelong journeys. Contractors need to cross multiple landmarks to achieve different levels of CMMC compliance. CMMC certifications will only be applicable for three years. Hence, contractors need to keep making constant fundamental changes to their IT systems and keep striving for better ways of securing physical and digital data as per the CMMC model.

Here’s how leading contractors are coping with these requirements –

Making Constant Upgrades to their Security Programs

There are five levels of CMMC compliance. If contractors wait to be audited, they may discover their IT systems are at level two of compliance when they need to be at level four. Hence, assessing how mature your security programs are and making constant improvements to these systems are vital steps.

Is your IT system’s cyber security model ‘mature’ enough to meet the DoD contract’s cyber security requirements you’re bidding for? That’s the question contractors and organizations need to ask their cyber security experts. The DoD expects at least 7,500 organizations to achieve CMMC certification by 2021. If you constantly upgrade your security programs during this time, you’re likelier to pass the CMMC audits.

Partnering with CMMC Consultants

Meeting CMMC requirements isn’t complicated for companies who are partnering with information security compliance program experts. These certified security advisors are giving DoD contractors second opinions and cyber security solutions. They help contractors be ‘audit ready.’ Self-assessment has gone wrong for DoD contractors. That’s why the CMMC was introduced in the first place! Hence, contractors and organizations must partner with objective third-party partners who can guide them in their path to achieving CMMC compliance.

Foundational Planning

Since the CMMC is here to stay, contractors need to change how they approach DoD contractors completely. The need to take these steps –

Allocating budget to assess and improve their existing cybersecurity models.
Invest in becoming as ‘audit ready’ as possible, either with the help of CMMC consultants or by investing in the right IT tools and policies, or both.
Assess the contracts that are available and set suitable timelines. For instance, if a ‘level 4’ contract is on the horizon, contractors with ‘level 3’ CMMC compliance need to start preparing to take on the next level.

Bear in mind – the differences in levels are massive. For instance, level one only consists of seventeen controls and only focuses on basic cyber security practices that most DoD contractors already implement. Level five consists of over 170 controls and are meant for contractors who handle highly sensitive DOD projects. Hence, contractors must start preparing in accordance with their short-term contract-related objectives. However, the long-term goal for all contractors and organizations should be reaching level five compliance.