CMMC Certification and Compliance – Why It’s Important

CMMC is the cybersecurity standard set by the Department of Defense (DoD). It is important for any company that handles or receives DoD data.

CMMC certification and compliance requires an external third-party audit from a CMMC assessment organization (C3PAO). The assessment will check whether you’re maintaining cybersecurity standards and implementing best practices for your organization.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a security solution that helps organizations detect threats before they disrupt their business operations. The solution collects data from a variety of sources and then uses analytics to identify potential threats.

SIEM tools provide real-time visibility into enterprise networks, which can be especially useful when an organization has thousands of devices and applications. It also offers incident response capabilities that make it easier for a security team to respond to threats.

The SIEM technology is a combination of security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM). SIM is the collection and analysis of security-related data from computer logs, while SEM provides the analysis of these logs in order to find anomalies that indicate a threat.

To ensure that an organization can effectively use a SIEM solution, it must be configured and implemented properly. These processes should be based on the organization’s goals and its potential threat landscape.

Implement Data Correlation Rules – Applying the right correlation rules can help an organization to locate errors in log data across different systems, network and cloud deployments. This helps to ensure that data with errors can be easily found and compared to other logs, giving the organization more visibility into its overall security status.

Monitor Access to Critical Resources – A SIEM tool should be able to monitor all aspects of privileged and administrative user access, unusual user behavior on systems and remote login attempts. These are all signs of a cyber attack.

Defend Network Boundaries – A SIEM should be able to monitor all firewalls, routers and other devices that are vulnerable to attacks. This can prevent network security from being compromised and allow companies to protect their assets.

Create an Incident Response Plan – When an alert is generated by the SIEM, it should be accompanied by a response plan that will allow the staff to quickly deal with any issues that may arise. This will prevent any lingering issues from getting worse and hindering the organization’s reputation in the marketplace.

A SIEM should be able to integrate with other security tools, including a firewall, antivirus, intrusion detection, and IPS. This way, the SIEM can be used to automatically block any attacks that are detected in real time.

MDR/XDR

In order to ensure CMMC certification and compliance, businesses will need to have a solid understanding of the tools they need in place. One of the most important tools is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system.

SIEM can provide real-time monitoring and visibility into all of the activities occurring within an organization. This can help to identify and remediate any threats that may be present on the network.

Another important tool is a managed detection and response (MDR) service. This service combines threat detection technology with finely tuned processes and automation for a comprehensive, impact-making capability.

MDR vendors offer solutions that are scaled to your organization, deploy technology to meet your needs, manage software and provide a human response. This is an effective option for organizations with a limited budget or for those who lack in-house expertise in these vital functions.

XDR, on the other hand, is a solution that combines endpoint, network and cloud resource detection into a single platform. It enables users to have a consolidated view of their threats across all platforms, networks and cloud services, which can lead to more efficient and effective cybersecurity operations.

While both EDR and XDR solutions are valuable tools for their own purposes, they do not cover all areas of an organization’s security infrastructure. This is because they are often viewed as limited point solutions, addressing a single aspect of an organization’s network.

This can be problematic for organizations that have a diverse array of IT environments and rely on various applications, networks, and cloud services. This can create a number of integration issues, especially when using an XDR solution alone.

For this reason, many security teams choose to use a combination of XDR and MDR to get the best results. XDR, on its own, can help to provide greater coverage of a business’s environment but it will not be enough unless an MDR service is also in place.

The decision between XDR and MDR should be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific risks an organization is facing. Each of these solutions has its own strengths and weaknesses and it is important to understand which will be most effective for your business.

Vulnerability Scanners

Vulnerability scanners scan a company’s network, servers, workstations and other assets for known vulnerabilities. They can also help you determine the priority of vulnerabilities discovered and suggest remediation.

In today’s digital world, attackers often exploit flaws that have remained unpatched for too long. These issues are referred to as zero-days. Cybercriminals can take advantage of these issues to steal data, disrupt business operations, or even launch ransomware attacks.

It is important for any organization to perform vulnerability scanning as part of its patching process. A vulnerability scanner will identify any issues that go unpatched in a timely manner, making it easier for IT staff to remedy them in the event of an attack.

A well-run vulnerability scan will provide a prioritized list of vulnerabilities, ordered by their severity. This helps IT teams decide which security actions should be taken immediately and those that should be addressed later.

The best scanners use machine learning to automatically identify the most vulnerable systems and devices in a given environment. They then prioritize the most serious vulnerabilities and suggest remediation to minimize risk and improve your security posture.

Some vulnerability scanners also offer a more comprehensive overview of vulnerabilities, including host-based issues and external threats that aren’t directly connected to your network. These include phishing attacks, web application and mobile vulnerabilities, malicious code, and more.

There are a number of vulnerability scanners that have been developed for different technologies. These tools are designed to identify and address common vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

These scanners can be used on servers, workstations and other network devices, or on other systems that don’t normally connect to the company’s network. They will also identify unauthorized devices and systems that are connected to the network, such as printers or VPN connections to insecure networks.

Internal vulnerability scanners should be administered by a qualified person who is independent from the device or component being scanned. This person can be an employee or an IT professional.

Training

If your company is involved with government contracts, then you’ve likely heard about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This certification will verify that your company is taking steps to protect sensitive information before it enters the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) or is shared publicly.

CMMC is the Department of Defense’s first attempt to set clear cybersecurity requirements for its contractors and verify that they are protecting sensitive defense information adequately before handling it. Although CMMC is still in its early stages, it’s important for all companies that do business with the DoD to prepare now and get ready to take part in formal assessments once federal rule-making is complete, which will be about nine to 24 months from now (August 2022-November 2023).

The goal of CMMC is to ensure that the defense supply chain’s systems are protected against cyber attacks and other threats. This means ensuring continuous monitoring and upgrading of cybersecurity to keep your company from falling prey to malware or hackers.

One of the most crucial aspects of CMMC compliance is training. It is important to make sure that everyone within your organization understands the importance of CMMC and what it requires. This will help ensure that all employees are aware of what they need to do to be compliant and how to respond in the event of a security incident.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to start assessing gaps, finding best practices and remediating as necessary to meet the CMMC standards. This will take a bit of time and effort, so it’s important to get started early and work through the entire process from beginning to end.

There are a number of ways to go about getting your company CMMC certified. You can do it by self-assessment or by working with a third-party assessment provider.

In the latter case, a third-party assessment partner will audit your policies and procedures to determine your current level of compliance. They will also perform on-site audits at your facilities. Once they’ve reviewed your documentation, they will issue you a certificate of compliance that you can use to bid on government contracts.

If you are looking for help getting CMMC certified for your business at Analytics Computers we can help you through this process from start to finish. Give us a call at 720-531-3830 or simply Contact Us using our form. You can even chat directly with one of our representatives by clicking the chat box in the bottom right hand corner of our web page.