Federal Practice

CMMC

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification for the Defense Industrial Base. NIST SP 800-171, CUI protection, and SPRS scoring.

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CMMC

CUI Marking and Dissemination Controls: The Four-Layer Guide for DoDI 5200.48 Compliance

The most counterintuitive finding I see in compliance reviews is a marking error caused by marking too much, not too little. Most Controlled Unclassified Information marking guidance tells you to add the banner and portion...

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CMMC

CMMC Enclave vs Full GCC High Migration: The Six-Question Decision Tree

Updated July 30, 2026: On July 13, 2026 the Department of War suspended CMMC Phase II, which had been scheduled for November 10, 2026. Phase I self-assessment requirements, DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2,...

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CMMC

DFARS 252.204-7012: The Cybersecurity Clause Every Defense Contractor Must Understand

The defense contractor's general counsel forwards two documents on a Tuesday morning. The first is the new DoD contract referencing Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7021, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) clause. The...

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CMMC

CMMC Level 2 Assessment Preparation: The 90-Day Readiness Sprint

Updated July 30, 2026: On July 13, 2026 the Department of War suspended CMMC Phase II, which had been scheduled for November 10, 2026. Phase I self-assessment requirements, DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2,...

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CMMC

SPRS Score Explained: How to Calculate and Improve Your DoD Compliance Score

What is your Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) score right now? Not the score you submitted. The score that reflects your actual implementation status today, measured against the 110 controls in NIST SP 800-171 Rev...

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CMMC

CMMC Enclave Architecture: Scoping Your CUI Environment to Minimize Assessment Cost

The following is an illustrative composite drawn from current CMMC assessment market conditions. Contractor A had 340 workstations, four office locations, a shared IT environment spanning HR, finance, and engineering, and a standard enterprise network...

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The Authority Brief

One compliance analysis per week from Josef Kamara, CPA, CISSP, CISA. Federal and private compliance, written for practitioners.