What Is The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)?
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification is the evolution of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) strategy to safeguard the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) from foreign and domestic cyber threats. There are over 350,000 organizations that are part of the DIB that participate in bidding on and winning contracts from the DoD. In the near future, all 350,000 DIB organizations plus subcontractors will have to switch from a very loose “self-attestation” model on their cybersecurity practices to a much more formal third-party assessment model. This will require massive amounts of training, both authorized and unauthorized, for hundreds of thousands of IT departments.
Training for these companies will range from:
- Teaching what CMMC is
- Instruction on IT security best practices to ensure their systems will meet the standards necessary to pass a CMMC Assessment
- Official CMMC Assessor preparation
In short, this is a massive shift in the way the DIB organizations are managing their cybersecurity, and one of the only solutions is training.
What Does It Mean to Be a Certified CMMC Assessor (CCA)?
A Certified CMMC Assessor (CCA) who successfully completes all certification program requirements as outlined by the CAICO (the subsidiary of the CyberAB responsible for training and certification) will be authorized to work in an assessor capacity on Level 2 Assessments on behalf of a Certified Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO).
Aside from the Certified Assessor track, both the CCP and CCA courses are also an excellent option for individuals in a variety of roles who will support DIB organizations in their CMMC preparation efforts.