The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a complex set of compliance requirements that you’re not exempt from as a Defense Industrial Base (DIB) supplier. Chances are that the information you’re handling is either Federal Contract Information (FCI) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI); CMMC is in place to protect both these sensitive data types. That leaves you with the responsibility of complying to these standards and passing the certification assessment to continue securing contracts. In this blog, we demonstrate how Cigent Technology and its partners can help provide compliance coverage for CMMC.

What requirements is CMMC comprised of?

The Department of Defense (DoD) countered security gaps and breaches with the CMMC to ensure suppliers meet designated maturity levels before being awarded a contract. Many contractors may find themselves struggling to meet the new, strict demands. Several technology companies are ramping up to offer their resources and pitch products that claim compliance success, but it’s difficult to find the varied solutions needed to meet requirements. To put it into perspective, the CMMC contains:

5 Maturity Levels

These levels track cyber hygiene, where 1 is basic and 5 is advanced. They build on each other; if you need level 3 compliance, you must obtain levels 1 and 2 first.

17 Domains

The CMMC’s best practices are categorized into 17 domains. Some examples include “Access Control,” “Incident Response,” and “System and Information Integrity.” Your desired CMMC level determines which domains are relevant to adhere to.

As you can imagine, complying to the requirements needed for these maturity levels isn’t a walk in the park. What can make your life a little easier is having access to solutions with several CMMC compliance capabilities. Ideally, these solutions should cover a range of domains and their security practices (controls) to lead you to your desired CMMC maturity level. Cigent Technology and its partners exhibit what these types of services can encompass.

How does Cigent Technology and its partners provide coverage for CMMC?

Building your own technology stack can be tough; you need to ensure that the CMMC solutions are compatible, and that integration occurs without obstructing the other tools. That’s why Cigent Technology and its partners offer a one-stop shop comprised of 6 configurable solutions that target CMMC controls for levels 1-3. The managed cloud-based and training solutions are backed by years of industry expertise and trusted by In-Q-Tel. Their “plug and protect” guarantee also requires no additional IT staff or resources on your part. The CMMC solutions are made up of the following:

Managed Network Security and Data Defense Solutions

Cigent

Cigent Technology holds 35+ years of cyber and data security experience with three solutions for CMMC coverage. Cigent's D3E® Zero Trust file access software for Windows relies on multifactor authentication to protect CUI from any threat, on the endpoint, at the network, in the cloud, or when shared with trusted users. D3E can work as a stand-alone solution or can be coupled with Cigent Secure SSD™ the industry's first and only family of self-defending storage devices with cybersecurity built into the firmware. These internal and external storage devices keep CUI hidden below the OS layer and protect sensitive data from ransomware and data theft when other security layers are bypassed. Cigent also offers a managed network security monitoring service (C4N) that provides defense in depth at an affordable price.

• CMMC levels covered: 1-3
• Domains covered (all three products): 11

PC Matic

PC Matic implements whitelisting management that surpasses typical whitelisting technologies. Thanks to its global and patented digital-code-signing-certificate lists, PC Matic’s whitelisting removes deployment and maintenance headaches, leaving you with the optimal deny-all approach to proactively prevent threats.

• CMMC levels covered: 1-3
• Domains covered: 6

Avanan

Avanan has the most five-star reviews compared to their competitors and offers enhanced email and file share security. Their email security captures, scans, and remediates BEFORE attacks get to your inbox. Internal, inbound, and outbound emails are all protected, and these security capabilities extend to file share applications.

• CMMC levels covered: 1-3
• Domains covered: 1

Training Solutions

SSU

SSU has 12 years of precision with a global reputation of excellence among the Special Operations Forces (SOF), federal agencies, private sector, and higher-ed partners. They specialize in the process of finding the right solutions for your information systems through physical security training. Their training courses cover anywhere from situational response to threat analysis, and programs are developed to ensure flawless execution.

• CMMC levels covered: 1-3
• Domains covered: 5

What are my next steps for CMMC coverage?

The CMMC requires a lot from you, but now you're familiar with 6 diverse solutions for your compliance needs. Consider where you are in your CMMC certification journey and what protections still need implementation. Cigent Technology and its partners can help lift some responsibility from your shoulders depending on which domain(s) you must address. Once you know what you need, all that’s left is to take action to meet CMMC levels 1-3.