Across all sectors, theft of intellectual property and sensitive information due to malicious cybercriminals threatens economic and national security. There are a number of initiatives aimed at simplifying and standardizing IT risk management, all with the same goal: stronger, more streamlined and more consistent cyber risk management to help keep federal systems and data secure. To achieve this, IT decision-makers must first determine what is on the network, and in order to do that, they need reliable data and improved real-time visibility.
The Defense Department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC, auditing process aims to create consistent cybersecurity practices for contractors that do business with the federal government—and protect the defense supply chain from security breaches.
Defense contractors will be required to prove they have—and they are using—the mandatory cyber practices to achieve each level of cyber maturity.
Cyber Hygiene Challenges
To prepare for compliance, contractors need a formalized approach to cybersecurity, as they will be required to demonstrate their cyber hygiene to the CMMC Controlled Third Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) accreditors.
The challenge is that many contractors don’t have full visibility into their organization’s network and security, which leaves their networks—along with DOD networks—vulnerable to attacks. They need complete, continuous threat monitoring and visibility into all assets on the network—an increasingly complex goal in the internet of things, bring-your-own-device, and work-from-home world.
As contractors work to address individual cybersecurity vulnerabilities, most have implemented a complex patchwork of point products that don’t integrate, are difficult to manage and keep patched, and can’t give the IT leadership team a full view of the threats. If contractors continue to install different point products to resolve each individual problem, they will continue ..
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