In this episode of the Secret Code to Government Proposal Success podcast series, Steve Rutkovitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Choice Cyber Security, discusses how defense contractors can achieve Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance.

Many Department of Defense (DoD) contractors have ignored the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) security requirements – but these days are coming to an end.

According to the DoD, CMMC audits will start on October 1, 2020 for RFIs with CMMC requirements that came out in June 2020. In addition, there will be more RFIs with CMMC requirements moving forward, and the goal is to have all contracts and contractors certified by 2025.

To meet this challenge, contractors need to have certification completed by a Certified 3rd Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAO) provider. For DoD-related proposals, it is also vital to highlight your CMMC compliance in your responses.

“You will not be able to win a new bid or re-new a contract without the certification – if it’s in the actual requirements,” said Rutkovitz in our podcast. “Compliance also gives contactors a competitive edge, especially if you have level-five certification.”

The CMMC auditing process aims to create consistent cybersecurity practices for contractors that do business with the federal government, and protect the defense supply chain from security breaches.

Following are additional highlights from this interview:

  • A high level overview of CMMC, and its history. (1:00)
  • About the five levels of CMMC compliance. (2:49)
  • How CMMC impacts contractors that are seeking to do business with the Department of Defense. (4:03)
  • Where contractors are today in the overall process. (4:36)
  • What contractors need to do to achieve compliance. (6:27)
  • Why a third-party audit is important. (8:00)
  • Why it’s important to showcase your compliance in your proposal responses. (9:16)
  • About Choice Cyber Security, and their offerings. (10:08)
  • Why starting sooner rather than later is vital. (11:15)

To learn more about Choice Cyber Security, please click here.  Please reach out to OCI here to tap into our wide-range of federal proposal consultants for organizations of all sizes – from Top 10 Federal Contractors to rapidly growing small businesses.