As DOD continues to expand its supply chain cybersecurity demands on federal contractors, McCarter & English Government Contracts and Export Controls co-leaders Alex Major and Franklin Turner provide critical guidance for federal contractors in a two-part Feature Comment for Thomson Reuters’ The Government Contractor. In the comprehensive article they address not only the recent and
DoD’s recent efforts to address cybersecurity have caused confusion and chaos for Government contractors. As we all know, cybersecurity is an issue that is impossible to ignore, and the sobering reality is that compliance with federal cybersecurity requirements is critical to avoiding catastrophic liability. Recently, McCarter & English Government Contracts and Export Controls co-leaders Alex
As we reported last month, the Department of Defense (DoD) has been engaging in an unusual rollout of its new cybersecurity certification program by way of road tours—led by Katie Arrington, the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment for Cyber—that address the tiered, five-level Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). At bottom, DoD intends for the CMMC to help streamline the acquisition process by providing acquiring agencies and consenting contractors with more exacting cybersecurity requirements for future acquisitions. What’s unique about the CMMC rollout is the lack of written guidance on the program. DoD representatives have orally provided a majority of publicly available information about CMMC only during various webinars and defense-industry events held over the past couple of months. Indeed, a quick Google search for “CMMC” indicates that, at this time, hard facts about the program appear to be limited to FAQs on a DoD website.
Continue Reading Cybersecurity – The Times (and Standards) They Are A Changin’ – FAST!
If your company sells products or services to the U.S. Government, there’s a substantial likelihood that you’ve read or heard the acronym “NIST” in connection with various cybersecurity related obligations that the Government is imposing on contractors with a seemingly unceasing vengeance. NIST refers to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is a