The Schellman Blog

Organizations seeking to work with the US government today must navigate a growing array of compliance requirements. Among the most prominent security frameworks are the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), each playing a critical role in securing federal information and systems.

TAMPA, Fla. – March 31, 2025 – Schellman, a leading provider of attestation and compliance services and a top 50 CPA firm, is pleased to announce that Schellman has expanded its offerings to perform cleared assessments for its clients. As an accredited FedRAMP® Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO), this enables Schellman to perform Department of Defense (DoD) Impact Level 6 (IL6) assessments as well as other NIST-based assessments, SOC 2 examinations, and penetration testing for DoD systems. This milestone strengthens Schellman’s position as a trusted assessment partner for government and defense-related environments.

Looking back, 2024 was a significant year for the Department of Defense (DoD). Not only did they release the 32 CFR Part 170 – Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Final Rule, but the DoD also published a pivotal memorandum titled Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate Equivalency for Cloud Service Provider’s (CSP) Cloud Service Offerings (CSOs).

Looking back, 2024 was a big year for the Department of Defense (DoD), as they released both a memorandum titled Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate Equivalency for Cloud Service Provider’s Cloud Service Offerings, and the 32 CFR Part 170 - Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Rule.

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 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). American defense data is incredibly valuable, and that includes highly sensitive personnel records and technical data. As such, the DIB continues to be a prime target for exploitation, and because a leak of such information could endanger the lives of government personnel and service members—not to mention the risk of billions of financial losses. Now, with the enactment of 32 CFR and 48 CFR, the Department of War (DoW) has established the legal basis of CMMC. As a premier CMMC third-party assessor organization (C3PAO) among the first authorized, we’re going to provide a complete introductory overview of this newer certification, including insight into what it constitutes, who will need CMMC, the requirements, and how to get certified so that as we approach the phased enforcement dates, you’ll be able to proceed with confidence.