Does My Company Need A CMMC consultant In 2022?
If you are a part of US Govt.’s Department of Defense’s supply chain as a contractor or subcontractor, then, you need a CMMC certification. In order to help with that, you need a CMMC consultant to help you handle / process / store FCI (Federal Contract Information) or CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information).
CMMC or Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification has been talked about for a while now. The prevailing discussions amplify the need for defense contractors and subcontractors in several contexts. One of the prominent points is that of Dept. of Defense incorporating CMMC certification for DFARS or Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to award contracts to the players in the industry.
Different levels of CMMC certifications are specified based on the sensitivity of information to be handled by the contractors. Any organization can get the specifics from DoD’s RFIs (Request for Information) and RFPs (Request for Proposals).
Instead of getting into the technicalities of CMMC certification and nitty-gritty, we would focus on the need of a consultant for a defense contractor or subcontractor. As highlighted previously, consultants help with handling the FCI and CUI. As a contractor, you need to be ready for assessment. Not only it gives you the benefit of saving time and costs, but also makes your company prepared from a compliance perspective.
How does a consultant help?
You can check the following points:
-
Training & gap analysis
Employees need training on DFARS clauses, NIST 800-171 compliance and CMMC certification. The precise training inculcates exercises to manage compliance measures. One of the most important parts is to identify the gaps by interviewing and reviewing information systems, reviewing CMMC requirements by analyzing current systems and processes, and identifying remediation points.
-
Compliance management and procedure development
Defense contractors are likely to incur various processes and procedures that prove effective in developing a solid business. However, those processes may get inundated with irregularities and unintentional problems, especially if they aren’t verified. Here, gaps need to be identified, plans & policy documentation need to be implemented, and best information security management practices need to be followed.
-
Compliance and performance monitoring
Once CMMC compliance needs are fulfilled, monitoring is the only way to witness if it’s working for real or only perfunctory. Followed by internal audits, assessment and identification of new gaps, continuous education and training for organization is a must. A CMMC consultant offers the perfect route to achieve all of the above objectives in a thorough & transparent manner.
What are the benefits of a CMMC consultant?
Pertaining to the technical part, any contractor or subcontractor might have a diverse range of questions to ask. A logical approach is to identify the problems with major compliance requirements and trying to solve them. However, a CMMC consultant brings the expertise and extensive experience in handling compliance requirements. Thus, not only it eliminates the time and costs, but gets an organization ready to take on the challenges by fulfilling primary requirements of a CMMC certification.
About The Author:-
Linqs Group writes about the need of a CMMC certification and consultant. The important points highlighted about the needs of a CMMC certification incorporated by the Dept. of Defense with DFARS. He explains how a CMMC consultant benefits a Defense contractor in building a CMMC compliant organization through various means.