C3PAO Certification Is Coming. Are You Ready?

By 2025, cybercrime is estimated to cause global losses of up to $10.5 trillion annually, affecting various industries such as federal contracting and national defense.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) in 2020 to ensure the security of its supply chain. This means that all contractors will need their C3PAO certification to conduct business with DOD. This certification will be fully implemented by 2025 and become a contractual requirement for DoD awards.

Certified Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO)

Starting on November 30, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) implemented a new requirement for its contractors (whether primary or subcontractor) to obtain certification from an independent accreditation body, known as a Certified Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO).

This certification is necessary to ensure that the contractors are trustworthy in storing Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI). The accreditation body has advised five maturity levels for assessment. This ranges from “basic” to “advanced,” there are assessments and requirements will need to be met every three years to maintain CMMC compliance.

Who Needs to Be Certified for C3PAO?

The new CMMC assessments affect over 350,000 U.S. Defense Industry Base (DIB) organizations, including approximately 74% of small businesses that are DoD contractors.

C3PAO Certification and CMMC Assessment

Get Help With C3PAO Certification and CMMC Assessment

How can this impact businesses like yours beginning their CMMC compliance journey? First, it is essential to strengthen your defenses. Let us help you get ready for the CMMC certification process. We can work with your business to assess your risk with an organizational background check, implement a solid cybersecurity program to meet your needs and help you achieve compliance when it’s time for your C3PAO assessment.

We can provide the following:

Start the CMMC Assessment Journey now!

What are you waiting for? Start planning to set your business on the right track — toward compliance.

Are you prepared for the upcoming CMMC certification? It’s essential for contractors seeking a DoD contract award to have a C3PAO certification, which assesses technical security controls, documentation, policies, and processes to ensure security and resiliency. While this must be completed through an C3PAO accredited body we can work with you in the lead up to ensure a smooth accreditation process.

If you’re uncertain about your readiness for this level of scrutiny, let’s discuss it now to avoid any last-minute surprises.

Laurie Head

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