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In the latest revision of documents pertinent to the ongoing CMMC countdown, NIST SP 800-171 R3 has been released. Though there were only a handful of changes in this new version, there were some significant ones regarding the assessment practices and their presentation that those monitoring the progress of CMMC should know.

With the introduction of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, contractors working with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will be required to meet a certain level of cybersecurity maturity ensuring the protection of the involved sensitive information and data, specifically controlled unclassified information (CUI) and federal contract information (FCI).

Back in August 2022—while rulemaking for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) was ongoing (as it still is)—the Joint Surveillance Program (JSP) was sanctioned by the DoD and CyberAB as an interim step in the CMMC program that allowed organizations to pursue a formal DIBCAC High (NIST 800-171) assessment.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a new framework that aims to better secure federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI) that is stored, processed, or transmitted by defense contractors and the entire defense industrial base (DIB).

Published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NIST SP 800-171 is a standard created to help organizations protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) from unauthorized access or disclosure.

Did you know? The Council of Economic Advisors estimates that malicious cyber activity cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and $109 billion in 2016. And unfortunately, in the years since, cybercrime has only become worse. (The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the total global cost of cybercrime was as high as $600 billion in 2017.)

If you’ve never seen Man vs. Wild, it’s a television show featuring famed adventurer Bear Grylls who, in every episode, is stranded in mostly wild terrains with his film crew. His task is to get back to civilization successfully, and he showcases different survival skills during those journeys.

The Belgian writer and painter Erik Pevernagie once said that “without a clear-cut vision and a proper reading of the roadmap we may not reach the buoyant shores of the horizon.”