How Zero Trust Can Streamline NIST & CMMC Compliance For Your Business
With the CMMC 2.0 rule now official, businesses that handle certain government information must show exactly how they’re protecting that data in order to keep their federal contracts.
The new U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) regulation is designed to confirm the existence and effectiveness of the cybersecurity measures used to protect federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI) by nongovernment entities.
Adopting a Zero Trust architecture is one way businesses can satisfy many of the essential security requirements of CMMC 2.0, which went into effect on December 16, 2024.
In this article, we’ll explore the pillars of Zero Trust in relation to the CMMC requirements. After reading this article, you’ll understand how the robust security solutions of Zero Trust can streamline your CMMC certification process.
Which Businesses Need To Be NIST & CMMC Compliant?
CMMC 2.0 is intended to create a verification system to certify the basic cyber hygiene and protection of FCI and CUI within the supplier and partner networks of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).
Under the new CMMC rule, federal contractors and their subcontractors must demonstrate exactly how they are safeguarding FCI and CUI within their organizations.
FCI is information not intended for the public that is provided by or created for the federal government during the process of obtaining goods and services. CUI is highly sensitive, but not classified, government information.
Both must be safeguarded against unauthorized disclosure.
CMMC is a federal regulation that heavily leans on the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) framework, which provides a set of guidelines and essential security controls.
CMMC strengthens those guidelines by establishing a method for the government to verify the proper implementation and adherence to those security standards through an assessment process.
Businesses are split into three certification levels based on the type of information they handle: Level 1 (Foundational), Level 2 (Advanced), and Level 3 (Expert).
Each CMMC tier has specific controls and assessment requirements needed for certification. At the bare minimum, all organizations with federal contracts (regardless of their CMMC level) will need to put in place 15 cybersecurity controls specifically for FCI.
The security requirements for Level 1 are outlined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.204-21, also known as “Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems.”
Related Article: NIST 800-171 vs CMMC:What’s The Difference? How Do They Work Together?
The FAR cybersecurity measures also align with NIST SP 800-171A.
The 15 basic safeguarding requirements in FAR are further broken down into 59 assessment objectives identified in NIST SP 800-171A. Keep in mind that these safeguards are considered fundamental protections. So, they are nonnegotiable.
Because of this, businesses will need to satisfactorily show that they have implemented all 59 of the assessment objectives. This means that if a single objective is marked as “Not Met” this will result in the entire control being marked as “Not Met.”
How Can Zero Trust Streamline The CMMC Certification Process?
Zero Trust follows the mantra, “never trust, always verify.” Rather than trust automatically and verify later, Zero Trust does away with the traditional implicit trust approach. Instead, it is centered around the notion that a breach has happened or will happen.
This means that all users, devices, applications, processes, systems, and even other networks must first prove their identity to gain access. Once validated, they must continually verify their identity in order to maintain access.
In this way, Zero Trust guards against threats that come from within or outside your organization.
Related Article: What Are The Pillars Of Zero Trust? How Zero Trust Architecture Works
Adopting a Zero Trust strategy involves every aspect of your organization—including the people, devices, applications, app workloads, systems and physical layout of your on-premises networking equipment.
It also factors in how and from where information is stored, generated, accessed, and transmitted across your network.
Some CMMC Level 1 assessment requirements:
- Allow access to only the minimally necessary information for authorized users to complete a task
- Verify users, devices, and processes before allowing access
- Limit physical access to your IT equipment to authorized personnel
- Monitor and control network traffic at the endpoints
- Create subnetworks for information that members of the public can access
- Safeguard your IT infrastructure against malicious code (such as malware or ransomware) and perform regular software updates
- Promptly identify and fix any security issues
- Perform regular system scans and real-time scans of any external sources such as websites or apps as they are being opened, downloaded, or transferred.
Since a plan of action and milestones (POAM) is not allowed for these Level 1 standards, failing to meet a requirement would push you out of compliance. This could put you in jeopardy of losing your federal contract.
What Security Controls Within The Zero Trust Pillars Can My Business Implement?
Zero Trust incorporates five pillars: identity, devices, applications, networks, and data.
These core components help enforce the Zero Trust philosophy of trusting no one and nothing to protect your sensitive information and systems from malicious actors constantly looking for new ways to gain access.
Because of the strong cybersecurity protections that are rolled into Zero Trust, businesses that establish a Zero Trust architecture will essentially satisfy many of the CMMC requirements for Level 1 assessments by default.
1. Identity
Implement identify management and verification tools to help confirm authorized users. A comprehensive identity access & management (IAM) system for your business can include tools such as:
- multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- security keys and passkeys
- complex passwords
- single sign-on solutions
Related Article: Security Keys and Passkeys: How They Protect Your Devices From Threats
2. Devices
Using a centralized endpoint management platform can offer critical visibility into your systems, users, and endpoints.
An endpoint detection system offers device detection, real-time scanning of traffic across your network, threat detection, and device and application control.
This can help your IT team block suspicious activity at the endpoint, restricting lateral movement within your network.
By controlling access, you can mitigate potential damage from a data breach or cyber incident.
3. Applications
Security tools, such as advanced firewalls, antivirus and anti-malware software, anti-spam filters, and endpoint detection, can all help verify the identity and health of the various software apps being accessed on your network.
5. Networks
Establish a system to continuously monitor your network such as a security information and event management (SIEM) for visibility and analytics. These are core elements of a Zero Trust environment.
A SIEM uses technology that constantly monitors your IT network for suspicious activity or unusual traffic. The system can quarantine potential threats and either block or flag them for further evaluation by your IT team.
SIEMs also provide critical data for your team to evaluate incident responses.
Another way to protect your network is by using microsegmentation. This security technique divides your network into smaller segments, each with their own, separate door to specific parts of your network.
For example, you can set up a dedicated portal for customers, following the Zero Trust framework, to limit access on a need-to-know basis.
5. Data
With a Zero Trust model, all data that is being stored, accessed, transferred, or processed on your network should be identified and categorized.
Data encryption is another essential part of a Zero Trust architecture. It helps ensure that sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
What’s The Bottom Line With Using Zero Trust To Help Meet CMMC Compliance?
After reading this article, you now know how Zero Trust not only strengthens your cybersecurity posture, but it also helps you automatically satisfy many of the CMMC Level 1 assessment requirements.
In this way, adopting a Zero Trust strategy can also improve your chances of winning and keeping valuable federal contracts.
The DoD has already started putting language for the new CMMC requirements into federal contracts. This means you have no time to waste in getting compliant.
If you haven’t started preparing yet, the entire process to meet Level 1 compliance can take around six months for many small and medium-sized businesses. Other businesses with more complex systems and those handling CUI may need upwards of a year or more to prepare for their CMMC assessment.
Achieving CMMC compliance requires careful planning and expert IT professionals who can ensure the proper implementation of the right security tools, practices, and policies.
Check out this article for a roadmap to adopting a Zero Trust architecture.
So, is Zero Trust the right solution for you?
Do you already have the internal IT staff and resources to implement a stringent Zero Trust architecture to get you ready to meet the CMMC requirements?
If you don’t have sufficient internal staff, or you're unsure where to begin, a managed IT service provider (MSP) offers a suite of advanced security solutions with a knowledgeable team of IT and cybersecurity professionals to guide you in your compliance journey.
We understand that managed IT is not for every business. We provide articles like this as a resource to help organizations make informed IT decisions that are right for their business.
Do you know if your business is CMMC compliant? Use our free CMMC checklist to find out.