The Department of Defense is working to get the word out about its new cybersecurity certification for contractors in the Defense Industrial Base.
Katie Arrington, the CISO for acquisition at the Department of Defense, will participate in an online event Monday about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), featuring members of the new certification’s accreditation body.
The event “A National Conversation with the CMMC Accreditation Body” is one in a series of scheduled conversations about the new process intended to strengthen the cybersecurity of the department’s industry partners in order to prevent the loss of sensitive information. Seven members of the CMMC accreditation body are scheduled to participate in the Monday event.
“The whole purpose of the CMMC was making a unified standard,” said Arrington, last week on the program Government Matters. “You either are or you’re not ready.”
“We’re doing our absolute best to stay on track,” Arrington said Wednesday of the CMMC process during an online event.
Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord released a statement last month insinuating that some third-party entities made public representations of being able to provide CMMC certifications to enable contracting with the department.
“There are no third-party entities at this time who are capable of providing a CMMC certification that will be accepted by the Department,” said Lord on March 13.
Part of purpose of the series of conversations is to dispel rumors, the CMMC accreditation body’s website says.
“Right now, the CMMC accreditation body is working internally and beginning to work with ‘Working Groups’ from private industry on targeted issues and tasks,” the website says. “The process will proceed over several months.”
Monday’s event is scheduled to be a two-hour session, beginning at 1 pm EST.
