CMMC Levels 1-3: Going Beyond NIST SP-171

Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Podcast Series

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 1.0 defines specific cybersecurity practices across five levels of maturity while also measuring the degree to which those practices are institutionalized within an organization. The CMMC model draws on maturity processes and cybersecurity best practices from multiple standards, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frameworks and references, as well as input from Defense Industrial Base (DIB) entities and the Department of Defense. CMMC requires that DIB organizations complete an assessment of all the CMMC practices at a particular level and become certified by a CMMC third-party assessment organization. When fully implemented, CMMC will require all DIB companies to achieve certification at one of the five CMMC levels, which includes both technical security practices and maturity processes. In this SEI Podcast, Andrew Hoover and Katie Stewart, architects of the CMMC model, discuss CMMC Levels 1-3 and what steps organizations need to take to move beyond NIST 800-171.