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U.S. allies considering adopting Pentagon’s CMMC cybersecurity standards

Foreign partners are considering adopting new cybersecurity standards that industry must eventually adhere to if they want to do business with the Pentagon, the Defense Department’s top weapons buyer said recently.

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification version 1.0, or CMMC, was released in January. The aim of the initiative is to prod the defense industrial base to better protect its networks and controlled unclassified information against cyberattacks and theft by competitors such as China.  The lower tier of the supply chain is of particular concern to Pentagon officials.

The specific standards that must be met will depend on the program and work that a company will be doing.  The level 1 standards will be the least demanding and level 5 the most burdensome.

Third-party assessors, known as C3PAOs, will be trained and approved by a new accreditation body.  They will have to certify that a company has met the CMMC standards before it can win contracts.

The new model will be phased in over the next five years to give contractors time to adjust.  By fiscal year 2026, all new Defense Department contracts will contain CMMC requirements that companies must meet to win the award.

Now, foreign nations are considering following in the Pentagon’s footsteps, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said at the annual McAleese & Associates defense programs conference in Washington, D.C.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/3/4/us-allies-considering-adopting-pentagons-new-cybersecurity-standards-for-industry

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Pentagon announces final version of cyber standards for contractors

During an event where Defense Department officials looked to dispel myths about a plan to certify the cybersecurity of its contractors through third-party audits, the department’s head of acquisitions spoke to why the rollout of the program isn’t expected to be done till 2026. 

“We are doing this with what I would call irreversible momentum,” Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said, answering questions from reporters.

Some stakeholders have said the plan to subject companies in the defense industrial base to reviews by independent auditors—instead of allowing them to self-attest to security practices—is moving at break-neck speed.  But Defense officials were pressed at the event to explain why it would take such a long time to fully implement the program.

“We’re being realistic in terms of making sure we have pathfinder projects and then we implement it and learn, get the feedback, and go on,” Lord said.

While the department plans to note CMMC requirements in requests for information starting late spring, specific security levels—ranging 1 through 5, described in a final version 1.0 of the model—won’t be included in requests for proposals till the fall, when it is expected the related rule will be finalized in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Spring is also when auditors will start attending classes and CMMC training will be available on the Defense Acquisition University website, officials said.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/01/pentagon-announces-final-version-cyber-standards-contractors/162807/

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Final DoD cybersecurity certification model due Friday

The Defense Department official leading the development of an ambitious plan to independently certify military contractors’ cybersecurity practices will review a final version of the plan Friday (Jan. 31, 2020) and shared key details for its implementation.

Stipulations of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) will be written into the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) as an update to rule 252.204.7012, which currently requires contractors handling information of certain sensitivity to implement security practices spelled out in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171 and to report cyber incidents within 72 hours.

The major change in the updated rule—which is expected to be open for comment in the spring—will be that contractors will no longer be permitted to self-attest their adherence to the NIST-described practices, as they are now.

The new program will also introduce five levels of tiered requirements for defense contractors. Contractors dealing with information that is not as sensitive would have to meet the “basic cyber hygiene” of level 1, versus the “good cyber hygiene” that implies compliance with the NIST 800-171 controls, or the “advanced” practices that would be required at level 5.

That risk-based approach has gotten the coming CMMC some praise, but the contracting community is on high alert with concerns ranging from the cost of certification to the details of how the audits will function through a nonprofit accreditation body.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/01/final-dod-cybersecurity-certification-model-due-friday/162713/

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DoD aims to issue proposed rule for certifying contractors’ cybersecurity in the fall

A sweeping plan to conduct independent third-party cybersecurity audits of prospective Defense Department contractors’ management of sensitive information will be subject to a formal rulemaking process, but the department and the nonprofit organization being established to train and approve certifiers are still moving at a quick clip. 

“Because we’re doing rulemaking, this isn’t going to roll out as hard and fast as we thought,” said a government official delivering a briefing on Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program at a recent meeting of the Software Supply Chain Assurance forum.

Quarterly meetings of the forum — co-led by Defense, the General Services Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Homeland Security Department—are attended by public and private sector representatives and conducted under the Chatham House Rule to encourage a free exchange of ideas.

The official said Defense expects the CMMC requirements to be issued as a proposed rule this fall, but regardless of the related public comment process, officials still plan to include the rules in requests for proposals starting in the third quarter.

“In June, we’re going to give you an [request for information] that says these procurements are targeted to have CMMC requirements,” the official also noted.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/01/dod-aims-issue-proposed-rule-certifying-contractors-cybersecurity-fall/162463/

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These IT, cyber provisions in the NDAA may have flown under your radar

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act always is chalk full of interesting and impactful policy changes or updates. 
The thing with the 1,794-page bill is knowing where to look.

No one person can read through the roughly 8 pounds of paper without missing a few important nuggets. So with some help of some federal experts, I dug into the NDAA and found several provisions that likely flew under your radar:

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Dennis Crall, the senior military adviser for cyber policy for the Defense Department’s chief information officer, offered simple advice at the recent AFCEA Northern Virginia luncheon: “Read the NDAA.”

Specifically, Crall wanted industry to look at the provision requiring each military service to create a principal cyber adviser — Section 905, if you are keeping score at home.

“Congress gave us very directed tasks and responsibilities for this new billet or this new role. There are also some implied tasks. The services need some time to go through this and decide how they are going to provide a level of sufficient implementation,” Crall said.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/01/these-it-cyber-provisions-in-the-ndaa-may-have-flown-under-you-radar/

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