The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework to evaluate and improve the cybersecurity readiness of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). All prime contractors and subcontractors within a supply chain must undergo CMMC audits and certification. This necessitates significant adjustments by the companies involved in the supply chain. The DoD implements CMMC to ensure a consistent level of cybersecurity preparedness across the DIB, safeguarding the federal government from emerging cyber threats.
The CMMC model measures cybersecurity with three different levels. The different levels demonstrate a progressive practice range for cyber hygiene.
3 CMMC Levels
Level 1: Foundational Cyber Hygiene Standard
Level 2: Advanced Cyber Hygiene Standard
Level 3: Expert Practice
The primary distinction between CMMC and NIST lies in their respective roles: NIST 800-171 standards serve as a set of guidelines established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help businesses protect their systems and data, whereas CMMC is a certification program developed by the DoD that improves cybersecurity for contractors and outlines the pathway to achieving compliance with NIST.
CalCom Hardening Suite (CHS) is an automated hardening solution designed to address the needs of IT Operations and Security teams. It significantly reduces operational costs and eliminates the risk of production downtime by indicating the impact of a security baseline change directly on the production environment.
