The data handled by the Department of Defense (DoD) and its network of contractors is a matter of national security. Compromised systems are not an option. To this extent, the DoD has strict cybersecurity requirements for those IT firms handling the DoD’s data as approved vendors.
This article will give you an overview of the DoD’s cybersecurity requirements and how you, as an MSP, can ensure compliance with them.
DoD’s Cybersecurity Requirements
There are three primary guidelines that IT businesses overseeing the management of sensitive DoD data must adhere to. Let’s learn about them in a bit of detail.
- DFARS
The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) is a set of regulations that IT companies conducting business with the Department of Defense must follow. The cybersecurity guidelines are covered under clause 252.204-7012, “Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting.”
DFARS helps protect two primary types of digital and physical records related to the DoD: Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI).
- NIST 800-171
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed NIST 800-171 to offer the best cyber hygiene practices to IT businesses handling DoD data. This set of regulations has been designed to help DoD vendors protect their CUI data only, not including FCI data.
NIST 800-171 categorizes security controls into 14 segments as follows:
- Access Control
- Audit and Accountability
- Awareness and Training
- Identification and Authentication
- Configuration Management
- Incident Response
- Media Protection
- Maintenance
- Personnel Security
- Physical Protection
- Security Assessment
- System and Information Integrity
- Risk Assessment
- System and Communications Protection
As updates get implemented under NIST 800-171, DoD vendors are given a time period to ensure compliance or else lose their approved vendor status.
- CMMC
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) evaluates the quality of an IT business’s cybersecurity policies and programs. It provides a set of certifications authenticating the quality of the cybersecurity posture. The approval process of DoD contractors is standardized with the help of CMMC, which applies to CUI and FCI data.
Compliance with CMMC is necessary for all IT firms that the DoD funds to provide services or conduct business with the agency.
Ensure DoD Cybersecurity Compliance
Complying with these strict DoD regulations can be a monumental task for a small IT business. But working with a white label managed IT firm can solve your DoD compliance problems.
Here are a few ways that white label MSSPs support your IT firm’s DoD compliance:
- Robust infrastructure protection – This involves building a comprehensive and cyber threat-resilient network of systems and processes. It includes risk mitigation and disaster recovery.
- Quality cybersecurity team – As an extension of your security team, a white label IT organization will enforce cutting-edge cybersecurity through its experienced IT specialists.
- 24/7 proactive monitoring – Using a preventive approach to threat detection and remediation, white label IT companies oversee network activity to determine security threats and deal with them before they can breach your IT business’s network infrastructure.
Find Reliable Expertise
For SMBs, achieving DoD cybersecurity compliance may be easier than maintaining it to retain the approved vendor status. With a dependable white label partner, you can maintain DoD compliance and stay secure across all attack surfaces.
Single Point of Contact is a White Label Managed Security Service Provider that provides a wide range of cybersecurity technologies and services. Our job is to keep your clients’ networks safe and secure by resolving potential security threats. With regular security monitoring and protection against cyber-attacks, we seek to help your clients attain peace of mind. Contact us today to discover more about how we can help protect your client’s network from cyber-attacks.
