Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a verification framework designed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure the safety of the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). The contractors based in Bethesda that handle the CUI are required to ensure the CMMC Compliance Bethesda, MD. Here are the five key steps that will help your organization to become CMMC certified.
Step 1: Understanding of Technical Requirements
There are several technical requirements of the CMMC. There are seventeen (17) sections of the CMMC model. All of these sections are important in terms of the CMMC Compliance Bethesda, MD. However, these sections are derived from the previous frameworks including NIST SP 800 -171 and FIPS 200. The DoD contractors based in Bethesda are required to understand these technical aspects clearly.
Step 2: Make a Decision related to the Compliance
After understanding the technical requirements, the contractors should decide whether they will go for in-house compliance or outsourced compliance. If it decides to go for in-house compliance, then it has to use the self-assessment handbook released by the DoD. On the other hand, it can take the services of a CMMC expert. Most of the larger contractors go for the outsourced compliance as they cannot afford any mistake. If they will fail to pass the assessment in the first attempt, they will lose all of their contracts.
Step 3: Conduct a Gap Analysis
There are different levels of CMMC Compliance Bethesda, MD. The Bethesda-based contractors should specify their level of compliance on the base of the CMMC guidelines. Then, they should perform a gap analysis. The gap analysis will highlight the major or minor changes required in their existing cybersecurity systems. It will help them to find the areas where some issues occur.
Step 4: Implementation of High-Quality Monitoring System
It is the most important step towards the CMMC Compliance Bethesda, MD. The contractors and subcontractors are required to implement a monitoring system that will detect, isolate, and report the cyberattacks immediately. Most of the contractors will have to invest in a high-quality threat detection system.
Step 5: Development of a System Security Plan (SSP)
According to the CMMC guidelines, the contractors are required to document and implement a System Security Plan (SSP). The SSP will include network diagrams, administration tasks, company policies, and more. The contractors should update the SSP when they make any changes to their security profile. The DoD officials said that the Department would not conduct any business with the contractors who would not have the SSP in place. Moreover, the DoD wants to review the SSP of the contractors and subcontractors through the CMMC.
If a contractor based in Bethesda follows these five steps, then it can easily comply with the CMMC requirements. The DoD will not award contracts to the uncertified contractors, according to the DoD officials. So, the contractors must have to work on it with a serious approach. Their future is dependent on the CMMC Compliance Bethesda, MD.