With 110 unique security controls required to meet the highest level of CMMC compliance, it can be a monumental task to prepare your business for the latest standards mandated by the US Department of Defense.
That being said, achieving higher security standards reduces risk to your business, improves business resilience, and opens the door to more lucrative contracts. By achieving a high level of security maturity, you can take on the projects that are critical to your organization.
Working with a managed IT service provider can make this process much easier for smaller businesses that lack the in-house resources to manage everything for themselves. A reliable MSP can help DoD contractors develop cybersecurity programs tailored to their unique needs.
What is CMMC Compliance?
CMMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. Achieving CMMC compliance is mandatory for all of the 200,000 organizations that make up the DoD supply chain, also known as the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).
The framework serves as a standardized approach to evaluating an organization’s information security maturity. To that end, it spans three control levels, with the highest level being awarded to organizations that have achieved excellent security standards. The higher the CMMC level, the more contracts you can bid on with the DoD. In other words, the more mature your security framework, the more opportunities your business will have to work with the DoD.
#1. Develop a tailored cybersecurity program
Every organization is different. Technology architectures vary enormously between in-house and cloud-hosted resources, and no two environments look the same. Moreover, businesses all have different goals, competencies, and priorities. This is why your cybersecurity program demands a unique approach.
Fortunately, this does not mean you have to take care of everything in-house. Working with a managed IT service provider not only provides a fresh perspective, but also strategy, systems, and expertise that align with your unique situation. After all, they have a vested interest in the success of your business.
#2. Assess your network for vulnerabilities
The first step in achieving CMMC compliance, or meeting the requirements of any compliance regime for that matter, is to determine where you stand now. This involves carrying out a full evaluation of your existing infrastructure and processes to determine where any potential weak spots lie.
However, taking an internal approach is not enough, since there is a high chance of missing something that only an outsider is likely to find. Partnering with a managed IT provider gives you a fresh perspective by running external vulnerability scans, and some will go even further with advanced network penetration testing and more.
#3. Implement the latest security measures
CMMC compliance demands the very latest in security standards and measures, even though these are still sorely lacking in many organizations. Because of this, security leaders may be reluctant to adopt important new technology which, in turn, stifles innovation and makes it hard to keep up in an era of constant change.
Implementing the latest security measures does not have to be prohibitively expensive. If you work with an external provider, you can outsource many critical security operations, such as security information and event management (SIEM), intrusion detection and prevention, and more.
#4. Raise employee security awareness
It is easy to think of cybersecurity as a purely technical problem. Indeed, this is perhaps one of the most common mistakes of all. However, everyone is a potential target of phishing scams and other threats. The logical conclusion to this fact is that everyone should also be a security person. In other words, your security depends less on technology and more on awareness.
Managed IT providers do not just provide technical solutions to help you keep up with the IT-related demands of compliance. They also provide industry-specialized advice and training to your team. CMMC compliance explicitly requires security awareness training too, and having an effective, documented training program is a requirement for achieving level 2 compliance or higher.
Charles IT is ready to help you on your CMMC certification journey with cutting-edge services and industry expertise. Get in touch today to find out more!
This post was updated in August 2024 for accuracy.
