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As the cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve, companies that serve the Department of Defense (DoD) must maintain compliance with NIST Special Publication 800-171 and will soon have to maintain compliance with the latest version of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) to continue doing business in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). CMMC 2.0 is the most recent version of CMMC certification, which evaluates and certifies organizations’ cybersecurity posture and ability to properly handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) without compromise within the DIB.   

To help enterprises and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the DIB meet CMMC 2.0 requirements, Exostar has developed a comprehensive CMMC Ready Suite. Our products help organizations assess their current cybersecurity hygiene, identify gaps against standards where they must improve, and create a roadmap to achieve and maintain compliance. By using Exostar’s CMMC Ready Suite, you can be confident that your organization can comply with all 110 of 110 controls.  

Overview: What is Exostar’s CMMC Ready Suite?  

Exostar’s CMMC Ready Suite is the turn-key solution for companies that must work to achieve and maintain NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 compliance, enabling them to remain viable and competitive in the defense industry. Exostar’s CMMC Ready Suite includes:  

• Exostar’s Managed Microsoft 365 implements 85 of the 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls and CMMC 2.0 Maturity Level 2 practices out-of-the-box, securing sensitive data and promoting secure, compliant B2B collaboration.  
• Certification Assistant helps you assess your organization’s NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC compliance status, develop the required System Security Plan (SSP) and Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), calculate your assessment score for reporting to the DoD’s Supplier Risk Performance System (SPRS), and monitor continuous improvement efforts.  
• PolicyPro addresses policy creation and management for NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC with templates and AI-driven evaluation with guidance for improvements. Ensure your organization has robust and compliant policies in place by addressing the policy aspect of NIST 800-171 for all 110 controls .   
• NIST 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 Basic Assessment where an Exostar cybersecurity partner will collaborate with you to perform a NIST 800-171 and CMMC gap analysis focused on reviewing the elements of your cybersecurity framework. We’ll identify gaps or areas of need in complying with the NIST 800-171 standards, and you’ll walk away with an audit-ready NIST 800-171 & CMMC Basic Assessment including a System Security Plan (SSP), Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM), and SPRS score.  

Exostar’s Managed Microsoft 365  

Exostar’s Managed Microsoft 365 provides a secure, trusted cloud-based environment for DoD contractors to collaborate and safeguard CUI. It provides out-of-the-box compliance and delivers enterprise-level security for businesses of all sizes. Hosted in the Microsoft Government Cloud Computing (GCC) High cloud, your data will reside in a specialized environment that meets the security and compliance requirements of the DoD for the storage, processing, and handling of CUI.  

By adopting Exostar’s Managed Microsoft 365, you can gain confidence that 85 of the 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls and CMMC 2.0 Maturity Level 2 practices are implemented with this managed service, while simultaneously securing your company’s sensitive data and intellectual property.  

Certification Assistant: NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC Compliance Checklist  

Certification Assistant offers a comprehensive secure GovCloud-based solution to achieve and maintain DoD cybersecurity compliance with NIST SP 800-171 and relevant clauses in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). DFARS 252.204-7012 requires all DoD contractors and their subcontractors that store, handle, or process CUI to be compliant with the 110 controls of NIST SP 800-171. Under DFARS clause 252.204-7019, contractors must calculate and submit their NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment scores to the DoD’s SPRS database, used by contracting officers to evaluate supplier risk during the contract bid evaluation process. Using Certification Assistant, you can accurately calculate your DoD Assessment Methodology Score (commonly called the SPRS score) for reporting. With Certification Assistant, you can:   

Generate your SSP and POA&Ms at the click of a button

Quickly create your SSP and POA&Ms by following the guided steps, ensuring you have a plan and a roadmap to cover all necessary aspects for compliance.  

Utilize control-by-control assessment guidance 

Receive clear explanations and relevant reference content for each control, making it easy to understand the requirements, determine your status, and address the gaps more effectively.  

Calculate SPRS score 

Determine your SPRS score, required by the DoD, based on the assessment of your operating environment against mandated security controls and practices.  

Store artifacts and evidence of implementation 

Securely store your compliance documentation, artifacts, and evidence of implementation within the application, enabling seamless access and review internally and by third-party assessors.  

PolicyPro: Creating Required NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC Policies

PolicyPro is a comprehensive, easy-to-use secure GovCloud-based solution that helps organizations achieve compliance with CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 and associated DFARS clauses. You’ll be able to streamline the creation, documentation, and evaluation of security policies. PolicyPro saves you time and resources as you build and revise security policies in line with NIST 800-171 and new CMMC 2.0 directives. Policies are essential because they provide clear cybersecurity requirements for company staff to follow to protect CUI and other covered information.   

By subscribing to PolicyPro, your organization can:  

Efficiently create and maintain robust policies  

Start with your existing company policies or create them from scratch with the PolicyPro templates. Streamlines the creation and maintenance of security policies through guided steps, ensuring you cover all necessary policy aspects for compliance.  

Gain control-by-control guidance 

Receive clear explanations and relevant reference content for each control, making it easy to understand the requirements and implement the requirements effectively.  An AI-scoring engine provides policy scoring and feedback, helping you create robust policies.   

Track and monitor compliance progress 

Monitor your organization’s compliance progress, helping you stay on top of your security policies.  

Compliance today with NIST SP 800-171 and in the near future with CMMC 2.0 is crucial for businesses looking to work with the DoD and maintain that relationship going forward. Businesses can navigate the compliance process and protect sensitive information using the products found in Exostar’s CMMC Ready Suite, including Exostar’s Managed Microsoft 365, Certification Assistant, and PolicyPro. With the suite’s comprehensive services and tools, businesses can navigate their compliance journeys more quickly, cost-effectively, and efficiently. With flexible pricing and scalable solutions for enterprises and SMBs, businesses of all sizes can achieve compliance, expand their DoD contract opportunities, and gain competitive advantage.  

Contact us for a smooth journey towards meeting the latest cybersecurity regulations with Exostar’s solutions.