The Department of Defense (DoD) is developing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), a new framework designed to assess and enhance the cybersecurity posture of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and its suppliers. Although CMMC is in the development phase, all organizations that provide services to the DoD will need to be certified as early as June 2020 in order to bid on DoD solicitations.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)) recognizes that security is foundational to acquisition and should not be traded along with cost, schedule, and performance moving forward. The Department is committed to working with the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) sector to enhance the protection of controlled unclassified information (CUI) within the supply chain.

OUSD(A&S) is working with DoD stakeholders, University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), and industry to develop the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

• The CMMC will review and combine various cybersecurity standards and best practices and map these controls and processes across several maturity levels that range from basic cyber hygiene to advanced. For a given CMMC level, the associated controls and processes, when implemented, will reduce risk against a specific set of cyber threats.
• The CMMC effort builds upon existing regulation (DFARS 252.204-7012) that is based on trust by adding a verification component with respect to cybersecurity requirements.
• The goal is for CMMC to be cost-effective and affordable for small businesses to implement at the lower CMMC levels.
• The intent is for certified independent 3rd party organizations to conduct audits and inform risk.

https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/

https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/faq.html