As we know, it is mandatory for all US Department of Defense (DoD0 contractors to ensure compliance with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The deadline for the DFARS compliance for small businesses in Orlando, FL, was December 31, 2017. In this article, we will discuss the right approach of DFARS compliance for small businesses based in Orlando, FL.
Two Ways of DFARS Compliance for small businesses in Orlando, FL
First of all, a small contractor based in Orlando must have to decide whether it will go for in-house compliance or outsourced compliance. In-house compliance is beneficial for contractors who have an experienced team in place. In order to ensure the security of the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), good information security is required.
On the other hand, most of the small contractors cannot afford to hire an experienced team for information security against cyberattacks. They do not need to worry as there can outsource their DFARS compliance. They can consult a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) in this regard. An MSSP will provide them a roadmap towards the CMMC compliance. It is important for small businesses to work with the right approach as they cannot afford to lose. Failure will hurt them badly as they will receive a stop-work order from the DoD.
How can an MSSP help small businesses?
The MSSPs have specialization in the DFARS compliance. They have a huge experience in their field as it is their job to help small organizations by ensuring their DFARS compliance. They start their work by conducting a gap analysis. A gap analysis is a comparative study of the existing security system of small businesses with the required system. There are some technical requirements in the NIST SP 800 – 171 framework. The DFARS compliance for small businesses in Orlando, FL, is the implementation of the NIST SP 800 -171 regulations constructed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
After performing the gap analysis, the MSSPs move on to the remediation plan. The remediation plan deals with the implementation of the required changes in the existing system of small businesses. Some organizations require small changes while others require larger changes. The technical solutions to the security issues can only be found by an expert. That is why investing in an MSSP is a good option for DFARS compliance for small businesses in Orlando, FL.
The monitoring of the applied changes and finding their results are the next and most important step. The main purpose of the DFARS compliance is to ensure the security of the CUI. Moreover, it also intends to report cyber incidents rapidly. The increasing number of cyberattacks pushed the DoD to release the cybersecurity standards for all external contractors and suppliers. If a contractor works with the right approach, it can easily acquire DFARS compliance in a quick time.