The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, better known as DFARS, has significance for contractors working with the Department of Defense (DoD). Our intention is to offer a comprehensive perspective on DFARS in the context of cybersecurity, its various clauses, and the intricacies of maintaining compliance as these rules constantly shift and change over time.

We’ve talked a lot about FedRAMP, CMMC, and the typical business/contractor security controls outlined in NIST SP 800-171, but these aren’t the only elements of cybersecurity that the government wants enforced. There are also the DISA STIGS to follow. What are they, do they apply to you, and how can you follow them?

The 60-day comment period begins for the new proposed CMMC rule published in the Federal Register. The Department of Defense’s CMMC program office has broken its silence for the long awaited publishing of its new Proposed CMMC Rule on December 26th in the Federal Register.

Compliance with federal cybersecurity guidelines is three things: It’s also a very complex set of rules, guidelines, and standards that address everything from the physical security of your servers and network access to the training your employees receive. On top of that, it’s packed full of acronyms and definitions, all of which have specific meaning. SSP is one of them; it’s a critical document you need to win contracts with the government and is part of the CMMC.

Navigating the federal government’s cybersecurity standards and processes is not easy. Figuring out how to comply with all of the various standards and controls is a lengthy process involving thorough auditing and analysis Mediaof your entire organization from top to bottom. When government contracts and sensitive information is at stake, though, it’s all taken very seriously. Today, we’ll talk about the FedRAMP impact levels and explain each one.

When it comes to implementing security controls throughout an organization, there are a lot of cases where the work may be doubled, tripled, quadrupled or more by having to “reinvent the wheel” multiple times. It’s a common problem, but fortunately, it also has a common solution: common controls. What does all of this mean? Let’s dig in.

Whether you’re a long-time cloud services provider or services business looking into dipping your toes into government contracts, or a new startup aiming to become a government services business, you’re likely encountering a dense wall of acronyms, paperwork, auditing, and standards that stymies your business growth.

When a business works with the general public, there’s a certain level of risk inherent in the process. We see it time and time again, with companies subject to data breaches and the loss of public information, like what happened to Target in 2013, Equifax in 2017, 23andMe in 2023, and many, many more. While there are security standards in place for private corporations, enforcement is slim, and violations tend to be retroactively applied.

In the world of government operations, information changes hands on a daily basis. Some of that information is public, readily available, and completely open.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has introduced a new revision of the Special Publication 800-53, revision 5. As with any document change of this scope there are minor and major changes. This paper will provide a high level overview of the significant changes, addressing a redefined focus in control families, accountability, governance, as well as a discussion of new control families, privacy transparency and supply chain risk management.