A joint blog featuring CISO Global’s Compliance Team & PreVeil
The long-anticipated CMMC rule (CFR 32) is now live, marking a crucial turning point for defense contractors. The Compliance Team at CISO Global recently passed our CMMC Audit and are well on the way to becoming a CMMC Certified Third-Party Assessor Organization, or C3PAO. Although CMMC’s arrival brings new challenges, there’s a practical solution that can make compliance more manageable: enclaves. Before we explore this approach, let’s understand where we are in the CMMC journey.
The CMMC Landscape Today
Defense contractors handling controlled unclassified information (CUI) have been operating under two key requirements since 2017: NIST 800-171’s 110 controls and DFARS 7012’s cybersecurity requirements. What’s changing now is the validation process: CMMC will verify compliance through independent assessments conducted by C3PAOs (CMMC Third-Party Assessor Organizations).
The timeline is clear and urgent:
- December 16, 2024: CMMC Final Rule (CFR 32) became effective
- January 2, 2025: CMMC assessments began
- Mid-2025: CMMC will enter contracts (CFR 48)
As Matt Travis, CEO of Cyber-AB, warned at a recent CMMC Summit: “If you haven’t started getting engaged in CMMC, now is the time to do so. It was probably the time in early 2024, but now the light is flashing red.”
Understanding CMMC Enclaves
The CyberAB’s CMMC Assessment Process (CAP) defines an enclave as “a set of system resources that operate with the same security domain and that share the protection of a single, common, and continuous security perimeter.” An enclave offers a strategic approach to achieving compliance efficiently.
Think of an enclave as a secure room within your organization’s house. Although the house represents your entire operation, this closed room is the only space where CUI resides—and therefore the only area that must meet all CMMC compliance requirements.
Why Enclaves Matter for Compliance
Creating a CMMC enclave allows organizations to reduce the compliance footprint, minimize the number of endpoints requiring protection, limit CUI access to only essential personnel, lower implementation and assessment costs, and streamline the certification process.
Creating Your CMMC Enclave: A Practical Guide
- Define Your Scope: Start by mapping where CUI currently exists in your system and who has access. Remember, CUI access should be limited to those who absolutely need it for their core job functions.
- Create a Compliance Boundary: Establish clear boundaries for your enclave, defining exactly where CUI will live within your system.
- Implement Appropriate Technologies: Ensure your chosen solutions meet DFARS 7012 c-g and FIPS 140-2 requirements. This is particularly crucial for email and file-sharing platforms.
- Establish Policies and Procedures: Develop comprehensive guidelines for CUI handling, including access control protocols, training requirements, incident response procedures, and documentation standards.
- Conduct a Self-Assessment: Use NIST 800-171A as your benchmark to evaluate your current compliance status and identify gaps that need addressing.
Simplifying CMMC Compliance
Although CMMC compliance might seem daunting, implementing an enclave strategy can make it more manageable and cost-effective. By carefully defining your CUI boundaries and limiting access to essential personnel, you can significantly reduce the scope of your compliance efforts while maintaining robust security.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to achieve compliance, it’s to implement sustainable practices that protect sensitive information effectively. An enclave approach helps achieve both objectives while keeping costs under control.
PreVeil’s Comprehensive CMMC Solution
The Compliance team at CISO Global has recently partnered with PreVeil, which offers a proven compliance solution trusted by more than 1,500 defense contractors to streamline their path to CMMC certification:
- Encrypted Email & File Sharing protects CUI without requiring a complete system overhaul. The platform seamlessly integrates with existing systems, including Office 365, GSuite, Outlook, Gmail, and Exchange, making it simple to handle CUI securely within your defined enclave.
- CMMC Compliance Acceleratorprovides detailed, prefilled documentation with comprehensive videos and tutorials. This gives organizations a clear roadmap to follow and cuts your documentation work by more than 50%
- Network of Trusted Partners connects you with C3PAOs and qualified consultants who have successfully passed the CMMC DIBACAC Audit, including CISO Global’s security and compliance team, who are FedRAMP-accredited 3PAO that can provide their expertise in regulations, frameworks, and security control requirements to help you define and scope your CUI boundary, refine your documentation, and streamline your assessment process. This professional guidance ensures you’re well-prepared for certification.
More than 15 defense contractors, C3PAOs, and consultants have used PreVeil to achieve CMMC compliance & perfect 110 scores on their DoD assessments. This includes CISO Global’s compliance team, which is a FedRAMP-accredited 3PAO. By adopting PreVeil’s solution, DIB clients gain access to proven technology that simplifies the enclave approach, creating a compliant environment for managing CUI data and protections.
Next Steps
As CMMC requirements begin appearing in contracts by mid-2025, the time to act is now. Start by evaluating your current CUI handling practices and consider how an enclave approach might streamline your path to compliance.
The post CMMC is Here: Simplifying Compliance with Enclaves appeared first on CISO Global.
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from CISO Global authored by hmeyers. Read the original post at: https://www.ciso.inc/blog-posts/cmmc-is-here-simplifying-compliance-with-enclaves/
