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2020 and the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program

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2019 has been a year of pivotal developments for defense contractors in the realm of cybersecurity compliance.  The Department of Defense (DoD) issued six guidance memoranda to assist its acquisition personnel in developing “effective cybersecurity strategies to enhance existing protection requirements,” including a mandate for the Defense Contract Management Agency to include cybersecurity compliance as a part of a contractor’s purchasing system audit and approval.  2019 also saw the first False Claims Act whistleblower litigation related to contractors’ compliance with DoD cybersecurity contracting provisions.

Beyond merely focusing on enforcement of existing compliance obligations, the DoD upped the ante in June 2019 with its announcement of its forthcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).  CMMC is the next step in the DoD’s efforts to protect the government’s sensitive, unclassified information against data exfiltration, and once it goes into effect CMMC will be a mandatory, third-party certification for all DoD contractors and subcontractors.

While there remain many unanswered questions surrounding the details and implementation of CMMC, the DoD has made clear that CMMC is coming and the defense contracting community must be ready to implement these requirements in order to continue receiving defense contracts, subcontracts and other DoD-funded agreements.

What Will CMMC Require?

As currently drafted, CMMC will require all defense contractors and subcontractors to undergo a third party assessment of their internal cybersecurity technical practices and process maturity against published standards.  This assessment will result in certification at one of five levels – 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest – or no certification.  Each subsequent level is cumulative, meaning a company must meet the requirements of all lower levels to qualify for a higher level of certification.  In addition, an organization must satisfy both the defined practices and process maturity criteria within a given level across all areas of the model to achieve certification at that level (e.g., having a Level 3 assessment on technical practices and Level 2 on process maturity results in an overall Level 2 certification).

The DoD expects contractor CMMC assessments to begin in early June 2020.  CMMC requirements will start appearing in DoD Requests for Information around this same time, and they become mandatory in all DoD solicitations beginning fall 2020.  Once implemented, each DoD solicitation will identify the minimum required CMMC level a company must have to be eligible for that contract award.

On December 6, 2019, the DoD released Version 0.7 of the draft CMMC framework.  This update refines the technical practice requirements for Levels 1-5 and provides further guidance regarding process maturity expectations.  Level 1 identifies 17 basic requirements, mostly consistent with existing general government contractor cybersecurity requirements, while Level 3 aligns with full NIST SP 800-171 Rev 1 compliance.  Levels 4 and 5 require “proactive” and “progressive” cybersecurity programs, respectively, and impose additional practices derived from Draft NIST SP 800-171B and other heightened cyber standards.  These top two levels are expected to be reserved for companies handling information related to critical technologies.

The CMMC model will not be static, however: it will be adapted and revised whenever and however needed as the DoD identifies new threat vectors.  While a company’s certification is generally expected to last for  three years, including interim spot checks, model revisions could necessitate earlier reassessment.

Continue reading at:  National Law Review

DoD releases version 0.7 of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification

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On December 13, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) released the latest version of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”).  This is the third iteration of the draft model that DoD has publicly released since it issued the first draft in October.  (We previously discussed Version 0.4 and Version 0.6 of the CMMC in prior blog posts.)

DoD describes the CMMC as “a DoD certification process that measures a DIB sector company’s ability to protect FCI [Federal Contract Information] and CUI [Controlled Unclassified Information].”  DoD has stated publicly that it intends to begin incorporating certification requirements into solicitations starting in Fall 2020, with compliance audits beginning in late 2020 or early 2021.  Depending the sensitivity of the information that contractors will receive in the course of performing work for DoD, they will be expected to demonstrate compliance through third party audits with the requirements set forth under one of five certification levels.  This applies even where contractors will not be handling FCI or CUI in the course of performing their contracts.

The two most significant updates to the model in this version of the draft are (i) the addition of “Practices” for obtaining Level 4 and 5 certifications, and (ii) an expansion of “clarifications” section, which now covers the requirements of Levels 2 and 3 of the model, in addition to Level 1.  These changes and others are discussed in more detail later in this article.  Given the expected release in late January 2020, it is likely that the requirements in this draft will closely resemble those that will be set forth in Version 1.0 of the CMMC framework, which is anticipated to serve as the basis for the first contractor audits.

Continue reading at:  Inside Government Contracts

Cybersecurity requirements likely for defense contracts by June 2020

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The Defense Department expects that by June 2020, industry will see cybersecurity requirements included as part of new requests for information, which typically serve as one of the first steps in the awarding of new defense contracts.

Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said the new cybersecurity maturity model certification program is a critical part of ensuring that companies hoping to do business with the department meet important cybersecurity requirements.

“The cybersecurity maturity model certification, or CMMC program, establishes security as the foundation to acquisition and combines the various cybersecurity standards into one unified standard to secure the DOD supply chain,” Lord said.

You can read more about CMMC here:  https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/
You can continue reading the article at:  U.S. Department of Defense News

Defense contractors: Prepare for CMMC in 2020

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In 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARs) intended to better protect defense data and networks.  Beginning in 2017, DoD began issuing a series of memoranda to further enhance protection of defense data and networks via Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

In December 2019, the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued long-awaited guidance in part governing the minimum encryption requirements for storage, transport and/or transmission of controlled but unclassified information (CUI) and technical defense information (TDI) otherwise restricted by ITAR.

The foregoing multi-year effort to protect defense data and national security networks are culminating in 2020  ̶  and government contractors must be prepared to comply or face potentially draconian consequences ranging from disqualification to enforcement.

Continue reading at:  Bradley

The Navy gets tough on DFARS cybersecurity compliance

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Last year we told you about a 2018 Navy memo, known as the Geurts Memo, which required defense contractors to implement certain controls for NIST SP 800-171, some of them going beyond 171 requirements.  If you didn’t see our write-up, it can be found here: “Still Lagging on DFARS? The Navy Has A Memo For You”.

The Navy has now gone several steps beyond that 2018 memo and is requiring their contracting officers to implement a strict regime when it comes to their contractors’ compliance with NIST SP 800-171 and the Guerts Memo.

Continue reading at:  Sera-Brynn

DoD releases public draft of cybersecurity maturity model certification

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On September 4, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition released Version 0.4 of its draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for public comment.  The CMMC was created in response to growing concerns by Congress and within DoD over the increased presence of cyber threats and intrusions aimed at the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and its supply chains.  In its overview briefing for the new model, DoD describes the draft CMMC framework as a “unified cybersecurity standard” for DoD acquisitions that is intended to build upon existing regulations, policy, and memoranda by adding a verification component to cybersecurity protections for safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) within the DIB.  As discussed in a prior post, the model describes the requirements that contractors must meet to qualify for certain maturity certifications, ranging from Level 1 (“Basic Cyber Hygiene” practices and “Performed” processes) through Level 5 (“Advanced / Progressive” practices and “Optimized” processes), with such certification determinations to generally be made by third-party auditors.

The CMMC establishes a new framework for defense contractors to become certified as cybersecurity compliant.  DoD has stated that it intends to release Version 1.0 of the CMMC framework in January 2020 and will begin using that version in new DoD solicitations starting in Fall 2020.  Notwithstanding the pendency of these deadlines, a large number of questions remain outstanding.  DoD is seeking feedback on the current version of the model by September 25, 2019.

Continue reading at:  Covington’s Inside Government Contracts

Bad bid: Malicious actors target government contractors

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IT personnel working the trenches in the fight against malicious emails know that financial transactions — and the various documents that support and accompany those transactions — provide malicious actors seemingly endless fodder for clever phishing attacks designed to separate legitimate organizations from their money and reputations, as well as their customers, clients, and partners.

Indeed, fake invoices, RFQs, POs, ACH documents, and remittance forms collectively constitute the “social engineering” backbone of innumerable phishing campaigns.  And hapless employees keep falling for them, clicking through malicious links and opening malware-laden attachments — often with nary a thought to the potential consequences — bringing malicious actors and their sophisticated malware inside their employers’ networks.

Over the past few months we have observed the increasing use of yet another type of transaction-based social engineering scheme designed to hook companies dependent on government contracts: the invitation to bid.  In what follows, we’ll take a look at a number of actual phishing emails reported to us by customers using the Phish Alert Button (PAB).

Continue reading at:  SC Magazine

Prepare now to secure ‘controlled unclassified information’

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Nowadays, many people are familiar with at least some types of protected information, whether in the form of personal health information or government-classified information. But, contractors working with the Department of Defense (“DoD”) must remember to protect another type of information: controlled unclassified information (“CUI”). Failure by government contractors to put processes in place that protect CUI could result in the loss of contracting opportunities or potential False Claims Act-related litigation.  For more information about the far-reaching implications of cybersecurity requirements on government contractors, please also see Matt Feinberg’s blog on the recent settlement of a cybersecurity False Claims Act (“FCA”) litigation; Isaias “Cy” Alba’s piece about cybersecurity, implied certifications, and the FCA; and Dave Shafer’s analysis of current cybersecurity standards and the DoD’s plans to remedy confusion.

Continue reading at:  Piliero Mazza

Contractors have questions about DOD’s cyber requirements

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The Pentagon is making big moves in an effort to improve cybersecurity for its industrial base, but so far the department’s biggest roadblocks early on may be the same confusion, doubt and uneven compliance from contractors that led to the vulnerabilities in the first place.

Officials from the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Standards and Technology gave updates on two nascent programs at an Aug. 8 Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board meeting: NIST’s new draft cybersecurity guidance for contractor systems deemed high value assets and the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program.

Both are designed to shore up different aspects of DOD’s cybersecurity regime for contractors, and both are causing heartburn among companies who are still unclear about how best to comply.

The NIST draft guidance around high value assets recently went out for public comment earlier this year.  The more than 600 responses reflect confusion about the scope and application of the requirements.

Continue reading at:  FCW.com

Cybersecurity – The Times (and Standards) They Are A Changin’ – FAST!

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As we reported last month, the Department of Defense (DoD) has been engaging in an unusual rollout of its new cybersecurity certification program by way of  road tours—led by Katie Arrington, the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment for Cyber—that address the tiered, five-level Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).  At bottom, DoD intends for the CMMC to help streamline the acquisition process by providing acquiring agencies and consenting contractors with more exacting cybersecurity requirements for future acquisitions.  What’s unique about the CMMC rollout is the lack of written guidance on the program.  DoD representatives have orally provided a majority of publicly available information about CMMC only during various webinars and defense-industry events held over the past couple of months.  Indeed, a quick Google search for “CMMC” indicates that, at this time, hard facts about the program appear to be limited to FAQs on a DoD website.

That word of mouth rollout continued during a July 9 presentation at the National Defense Industrial Agency Procurement Division Meeting in Washington, D.C.  During this presentation, Ms. Arrington both reconfirmed some previously discussed details about the CMMC program and provided additional insight into program components that will be of interest to contractors doing business with DoD when the program comes to fruition.

Continue reading at:  McCarter & English

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