CMMC FAQ Updated (May 2026): What DIB Contractors Should Do Next
The DoD’s CMMC FAQ has been updated again. If you are working toward Level 2 certification, FAQ updates are not background noise. They are the closest thing to interpretive guidance you get between rulemakings, and assessors read them. The latest version, CMMC FAQ Revision 2.3 from May 2026, is worth reviewing closely. For small-to-medium DIB […]
L3Harris Just Put Its Supply Chain on the Clock. Here’s What That Means for You.
Last week, L3Harris Technologies sent an updated letter to its supplier base with a clear message: get CMMC certified by July 30, 2026, or risk losing your place on DoD programs. Three months is not enough time to start. For contractors who haven’t begun the certification process, the timeline is already somewhere between tight and […]
Why CMMC Is Harder for General Contractors Than Anyone Wants to Admit
If you’re a general contractor working in the Defense Industrial Base, CMMC isn’t just another compliance requirement. It’s a direct challenge to how your business operates. Most guidance around CMMC assumes a company controls its own environment. Its own systems. Its own people. That’s not how construction works. The Real Problem: You Don’t Do Most […]
GCC High and Commercial Teams Meetings: What DIB Contractors Need to Know About Cross-Tenant Collaboration
If your organization handles CUI in Microsoft 365 GCC High, you already know the environment exists for a reason — it meets the FedRAMP High baseline that CMMC Level 2 compliance demands. What catches many contractors off guard is how that separation affects something as routine as joining a Teams meeting with a commercial tenant […]
You Might Already Be a Defense Contractor — And CMMC Doesn’t Care That You Didn’t Know
There’s a conversation happening too late in too many small businesses: “Wait — we need CMMC?” It usually starts when a prime contractor sends a flowdown clause or a new solicitation lands with DFARS 252.204-7012 attached. The company makes a component, provides IT services, or handles logistics for someone who handles something for the DoD. […]
NIST 800-171 Rev 3 Is Here, so Why Is CMMC Still on Rev 2?
NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3 has been published for nearly two years. The DoD has released its Organization-Defined Parameters for Rev 3. DFARS clause 252.204-7012 tells contractors to implement the “most current version” of 800-171. And yet every CMMC Level 2 assessment happening right now is evaluated against Revision 2. If you’re a DIB contractor […]
Army MAPS Shows How CMMC Scoring Will Actually Work
The Army just dropped a $50B reality check on the Defense Industrial Base. Their Marketplace for Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) solicitation isn’t just another contract announcement, it’s the first major reveal of how CMMC Level 2 certification will translate into competitive advantage (or disadvantage) in federal contracting. Here’s what DIB contractors need to understand: […]
Encrypted CUI Is Still In Scope, but Your Whole Network Might Not Be
If you’re building a CMMC enclave to contain your CUI environment, you need to understand a January 2026 DoD FAQ clarification that directly affects where your assessment boundary lands. The short version: encrypted CUI is still CUI, encryption alone doesn’t create logical separation, but a properly separated enclave can keep your enterprise network out of […]
CMMC is a Business Transformation That Starts at the Top
Most DIB contractors approach CMMC backwards. They assign it to IT, budget for tools, and expect their technical team to handle compliance. Then reality hits: scoping decisions affect profit margins. Contract flow-down clauses determine competitive positioning. Evidence collection requires process changes across departments. The source article frames it correctly: CMMC is a business strategy decision […]
Your 12-Month CMMC Countdown Starts Now, Whether You Know It or Not
The clock is ticking. Contractual enforcement of CMMC begins November 10, 2025. If you’re handling CUI on DoD contracts, that’s not a future problem, it’s a today problem. Most DIB contractors need 12-18 months to reach Level 2 certification readiness, which means companies starting now are already cutting it close. Here’s what many contractors miss: […]
CMMC Isn’t Optional Anymore, It’s Your Ticket to Stay in the Defense Supply Chain
The LinkedIn posts are starting to pile up. Defense tech founders and cybersecurity consultants all saying the same thing: CMMC is no longer just another compliance checkbox, it’s becoming the gatekeeper for who gets to play in the defense industrial base. They’re not wrong. But for small-to-medium DIB contractors handling CUI, the real question isn’t […]
CMMC Phase 2 Is Coming: Why Third-Party Assessments Change Everything
We’re five months into the DoD’s phased CMMC implementation, and many DIB contractors are still operating like they have years to prepare. They don’t. While the first 12 months (Phase 1) focus primarily on self-assessments, Phase 2 brings mandatory third-party assessments for Level 2, and that shift fundamentally changes what “ready” means. Here’s the reality […]
The CMMC Acronym Wall: Why Misunderstanding These Three Terms Can Derail Your Compliance Before You Start
If you’ve been anywhere near a Department of Defense contract recently, you’ve likely encountered what feels like a foreign language, CMMC, CUI, FCI, OSC, C3PAO, POA&M. The acronyms come fast and often without explanation, leaving contractors confused about what actually applies to them. Here’s why this matters: misunderstanding just three core terms can fundamentally skew […]
DoD Clarifies: Encrypted CUI Still Counts for Your CMMC Boundary
If you’re planning your CMMC Level 2 assessment scope thinking that encrypting CUI gets it “out of bounds,” the DoD’s latest FAQ guidance delivers a reality check. The January 2026 update addresses three critical scoping questions that every DIB contractor needs to understand, because getting this wrong means either overscoping (and overspending) or underscoping (and […]
Why Your System Security Plan Will Reveal CMMC Scope You Didn’t Know You Had
Most DIB contractors view the System Security Plan (SSP) as a documentation hurdle, write down your security controls, describe your environment, check the box. But here’s what they discover too late: developing your SSP is actually when you find out your real CMMC scope is bigger than you thought. The SSP isn’t just paperwork. It’s […]
DoD Finally Clarifies Encrypted CUI Scoping, and It Changes Everything
If you’ve been wrestling with how to scope systems that only touch encrypted CUI, the DoD just handed you a gift. Their January 2026 FAQ update directly addresses one of the most expensive questions in CMMC Level 2 preparation: Can systems that only process encrypted CUI be excluded from your full assessment boundary? The answer […]
CMMC Documentation Isn’t About Volume, It’s About Proof
You’ve heard it before: CMMC requires an SSP, policies, procedures, evidence files. But here’s what matters for DIB contractors, documentation isn’t about creating a library. It’s about proving your security controls actually work. The real risk? Building documentation that looks complete but fails under assessment scrutiny. I’ve seen contractors produce 300-page SSPs that miss fundamental […]
Your Encrypted CUI Is Still In Scope, The DoD Just Confirmed It
If you’re planning your CMMC scope assuming that encryption gets you out of compliance requirements, the DoD’s January 2026 FAQ update has news you need to hear. The message is clear: encrypted CUI is still CUI, and those systems handling it can’t be written off as out-of-scope just because the data is encrypted. Here’s what […]