Breaking CMMC Barriers for Small Business and Academia
The Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic under the Palmetto Technical Bridge (PTB) will be hosting a PTB Prize Challenge Rodeo 2022 Event on September 15th, 2022 in Charleston, SC.
To safeguard sensitive national security information, the Department of Defense (DoD) launched Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0, a comprehensive framework to protect the defense industrial base from increasingly frequent and complex cyberattacks.
CMMC 2.0 is the next iteration of the Department’s CMMC cybersecurity model. It streamlines requirements to three levels of cybersecurity – Foundational, Advanced and Expert – and aligns the requirements at each level with well-known and widely accepted NIST cybersecurity standards.
With its streamlined requirements, CMMC 2.0 intends to:
- Cut red tape for small and medium sized businesses
- Set priorities for protecting DoD information
- Reinforce cooperation between the DoD and industry in addressing evolving cyber threats
More information on CMMC 2.0 can be found at https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/index.html .
For the purpose of this Prize Challenge the participant will assess their most recent activities in consideration or pursuit of achieving any level within the CMMC 2.0 model and to provide specific examples of how CMMC 2.0 has: (1) reduced red tape for small and medium sized businesses; (2) established and set priorities for protecting DoD information; and (3) facilitated cooperation between the DoD and industry in addressing evolving cyber threats. Participants shall describe the implementation approaches and specific activities and “best practices” that they developed in achieving certification. The participants shall also include discussion and their recommendations to overcome any difficulties or barriers that remain in clearly defining the requirements or the process by which they can be met. The participant shall provide an assessment and basis to either recommend or not recommend expansion/adoption of the CMMC Certification to non-DoD industry as a means to better secure our national industry base and digital infrastructure.
The Government intends to share implementation approaches and practices that can be verified that are found to support successful attainment of certification and will consider what actions or activities might be appropriate to address any systemic barriers to wider adoption.
To view the CMMC model, see the file on the Resources Page.
Awards:- $50,000
Deadline:- 16-08-2022
