CMMC 2.0

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC 2.0)

Table 1

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Strategic Direction for CMMC 2.0

Today, the Department of Defense announced the strategic direction of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, marking the completion of an internal program assessment led by senior leaders across the Department.

The enhanced “CMMC 2.0” program maintains the program’s original goal of safeguarding sensitive information, while:

Simplifying the CMMC standard and providing additional clarity on cybersecurity regulatory, policy, and contracting requirements;
Focusing the most advanced cybersecurity standards and third-party assessment requirements on companies supporting the highest priority programs; and
Increasing Department oversight of professional and ethical standards in the assessment ecosystem.

Together, these enhancements:

Ensure accountability for companies to implement cybersecurity standards while minimizing barriers to compliance with DoD requirements;
Instill a collaborative culture of cybersecurity and cyber resilience; and
Enhance public trust in the CMMC ecosystem, while increasing overall ease of execution.

“CMMC 2.0 will dramatically strengthen the cybersecurity of the defense industrial base,” said Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. “By establishing a more collaborative relationship with industry, these updates will support businesses in adopting the practices they need to thwart cyber threats while minimizing barriers to compliance with DoD requirements.”

The CMMC program includes cyber protection standards for companies in the defense industrial base (DIB). By incorporating cybersecurity standards into acquisition programs, CMMC provides the Department assurance that contractors and subcontractors are meeting DoD’s cybersecurity requirements.

The DIB is the target of increasingly frequent and complex cyberattacks by adversaries and non-state actors. Dynamically enhancing DIB cybersecurity to meet these evolving threats, and safeguarding the information that supports and enables our warfighters, is a top priority for the Department. CMMC is a key component of the Department’s expansive DIB cybersecurity effort.

The internal assessment of CMMC was co-chaired by: Mieke Eoyang, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy; David Frederick, Executive Director of U.S. Cyber Command; David McKeown, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity; and Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy; and included senior leaders from 18 components across the Department.

CMMC IMPLEMENTATION

CMMC program requirements will be implemented through the acquisition and contracting process. With

PLAN OF ACTIONS AND MILESTONES (POA&MS)

With the implementation of CMMC 2.0, the Department intends to allow companies to receive contract awards with a Plan of Actions and Milestones (POA&M) in place to complete CMMC requirements. The Department’s intent is to specify a baseline number of requirements that must be achieved prior to contract award, in order to allow a remaining subset to be addressed in a POA&M within a clearly defined timeline. The Department also intends to specify a small subset of requirements that cannot be on a POA&M in support of achieving a CMMC certification.

WAIVERS

Under CMMC 2.0, the Department intends to allow a limited waiver process to exclude CMMC requirements from acquisitions for select mission-critical requirements. Waiver requests will require senior DoD leadership approval and will have a limited duration. The specifics of the waiver requirements will be implemented as part of the rulemaking process.

Once CMMC 2.0 is implemented, the required CMMC level for contractors and sub-contractors will be specified in the solicitation and in Requests for Information (RFIs), if utilized.