Benefits of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
Its name says it pretty much the first and main benefit: security. 2020 represents a new decade of a lot of technology where the information and data from people and companies, in general, are exposed quite easily when you don’t have even something as simple as an antivirus on your computer. Therefore, when you think about the benefits of a standard that focused on securing and protecting the data in every media in this matter, you quite get where it starts and even ends.
That being said, the main benefits go further than that, and the minor ones are also something to look after when you start knowing and getting educated about them. Now that you know this and we are sure you are quite clear about the main purpose of implementing cybersecurity and standards related to it, we would prefer to discuss the rest of the advantages and pros. Starting with the opportunities to have a DoD contract.
Since this standard was created to protect unclassified information and data from contracts obtained or related to the Department of Defense, it is clear that your company cannot access them unless it meets certain requirements.
This is an aspect that most people ignore when they are trying to obtain contracts or involve themselves in this area of business. However, most of the time, they also meet the basic cyber hygiene that is stipulated in the first level of CMMC. But that doesn’t mean they meet the rest that comes with more opportunities and of course, security.
Before continuing, our company ISO Pros is aware that you are completely unfamiliar with this standard or just recently started to research about it. And this is completely fine since it came out in January 2020 and during June 2020 is when it started to be official and mandatory. Due to the situation during the first months of this year that are still going, we are aware that most companies and people interested and in need of this new standard haven’t had the opportunity to get to understand it quite well.
Therefore, accessing a certification in this standard will be quite a challenge not only when it is starting to be implemented formally but also, several months after. It is also important to point the fact that all maturity levels in it are reasonable, with an exception in level 5, which—according to the official site—has several aspects that might be impossible to fulfill.
It is new, and you need to understand that even when it is mandatory, you cannot expect to go for level 5 at least, not right away.
Major and minor benefits of CMMC
As we mentioned before, the major benefit is the security itself and we all know why it is relevant in the current world. Now, other major benefits from this standard would be to have more confidence about the people who have access to it. Requirements established in the document are aiming for not only protecting data from outsiders but also for those managing it.
Also, it focuses on ensuring the ability of companies to protect even the smallest and most irrelevant information they manage. Although DoD contracts do not involve classified information, managing the unclassified one at a certain level is quite similar to the first one. And, overall, you can’t just let people have access to even a small password or document.
When implementing CMMC and getting certified, you will be able to block access to the computers and systems in your company by learning simple elements. Such as the right passwords, antivirus and modify the security system according to your company needs. Every level manages a different type of cybersecurity, which leads to an extra benefit your company gains from them.
At level 1, it will be the basic standard that focuses on what we mentioned before. However, at level 2, managing the unclassified information, having more authentication options to protect the entire systems, and options to not allow anyone to get access to specific elements will be possible.
Level 3 and level 4 are more about advanced methods and requirements which come with extra security and information regarding how to manage certain data and its protection.
It sounds a bit general, but benefits related to this standard are completely related to the security itself and the opportunities you obtain. Therefore, you can look at it in 4 different ways:
Can you get certified anytime?
Since CMMC came out recently, companies have the opportunity—the already existing ones—to implement it over time.
However, the faster you are able to obtain a certification on the different levels, the more you will be able to handle DoD contracts and Federal Information. As well as unclassified ones. For this, a reliable company that can help you with both aspects:
Will be required to obtain the desired results and therefore, recognition. Our company can help you with this since the very start. We got access to CMMC and the documentation since it released in January 2020, and we have been studying and getting familiar with it to provide the required certification.
Our company is already validated to provide certification in this standard. And we assure you that our support and assistance in implementing it will come in handy as part of our duty and services. Therefore, let us know if you need to know more about the rest of the benefits and how it works. We have other sections on our website with more information, but you’re welcome to contact us to ask your questions.