DIB contractors hold and use sensitive government data to develop and deliver goods and services. CMMC helps ensure that they secure this information the same way that military departments and government agencies do.

hThe U.S. government provided cybersecurity guidance for contractors for many years, but there was no way for contractors to prove how strong their cyber programs were. CMMC introduces a new set of certifications, conducted by third-party assessors. Contractors must achieve certification before they can win future government contracts.ere.

Today CMMC applies only to DoD contractors, and the DoD is now beginning to require certification with certain contracts. In the future, CMMC may apply all non-DoD government contractors as well.wer here.

Many higher education institutions are DoD contractors. They perform basic and applied research under contract and are also subject to CMMC. nswer here.

Contractors pay for their CMMC assessments. The costs depend upon several factors, like the target CMMC levels. However, the DoD states that certain cybersecurity contracts can incur "allowable costs" that can help contractors pay for upgrades. CMMC does not allow contractors to perform self-certifications..

While NIST 800-171 is primarily focused on protecting CUI wherever it is stored, transmitted and processed, your organization still needs to comply with both the CUI and NFO controls. For some reason, CMMC only focuses on CUI controls and does not have NFO controls in scope for the CMMC audits.