The Charles IT Blog

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a unified standard for implementing and standardizing information security controls across the enormous Defense Industrial Base. Every company which currently has contracts with the DoD or wishes to bid on requests for proposals (RFPs) in the foreseeable future will need to earn the appropriate certification.

Many people still think of cybersecurity as being a technical problem and the sole responsibility of the IT department. But the truth is, cybercriminals aren’t always the skilled hackers like those portrayed in popular culture. Instead of targeting vulnerabilities in technology, they go after the weakest link – which is usually people themselves.

  On October 8, 2020, Connecticut entered Phase 3 of its reopening plan. While most people in the state are still encouraged to work from home, many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are slowly returning to the office. For SMB owners, one of the challenges of returning to the workplace is how to get their IT systems up and running again. With many SMBs suffering massive financial losses ...

Global spending on cybersecurity products and services has been increasing for years, to the point where it has become a $124 billion global industry. Moreover, many IT security leaders expect their budgets to increase even further in the coming years, as cyberthreats continue to advance and new technologies present new risks and opportunities alike.

For many contractors working for the Department of Defense (DoD), the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is nothing more than just another headache. Adopting a new set of cybersecurity standards is no joke, especially for companies that have already invested an enormous amount of effort to comply with the requirements of NIST 800-171 and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation ...

In an effort to increase the resilience of its enormous supply chain, the Department of Defense has mandated that all contractors and subcontractors meet the CMMC requirements by 2026. However, the CMMC timeline also included the incorporation of CMMC requirements as early as September this year. The first round of auditors is now undergoing training, so contractors should be ready for audits by ...

  With over 300,000 defense contractors, the DoD has one of the biggest supply chains in the world. The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) is constantly exposed to a wide variety of threats, including state espionage and state-sponsored attacks. To counter these threats in the age of cyberwarfare, the federal government is starting to enforce the DoD CMMC regulations. The framework is design to ...

Encryption is one of the most important features of the DoD CMMC framework, as well as any healthy cybersecurity posture. Every organization should deploy encryption across all systems which store, process, or transmit potentially sensitive information. Not only is encryption of all controlled unclassified information (CUI) pertaining to the Department of defense mandatory – it will also protect ...

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a cohesive cybersecurity standard based on various security frameworks, including NIST SP 800-171 and the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). It features five cybersecurity maturity levels and 17 domains that outline specific requirements that Department of Defense (DoD) contractors must meet before they can work on ...

Cyberattacks pose a serious threat to national security, and defense contractors should start preparing now for the new wave of legislation being introduced to guard against those threats. With CMMC audits expected to start taking place by the end of the year, potential and existing DoD contractors are running out of time to prepare for their CMMC applications.