Sum IT Up: CMMC News Roundup

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DoD already solved the problem of CMMC requiring NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 while other cybersecurity requirements moved to Rev. 3. Then it suspended CMMC Phase 2.



Now the FAR CUI rule is approaching with Rev. 3, CMMC remains tied to Rev. 2, and defense contractors could once again find themselves juggling different cybersecurity baselines for the same data. We break down how DoD got here, the options for fixing it, and why CMMC reform could make the problem even more complicated.



Crisis Averted (2024): https://youtu.be/voziZRAMvv4?si=LLlm4VUmBR-G3hno



Phase 2 Suspension: https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4542329/forging-the-arsenal-of-freedom-department-of-war-suspends-cmmc-phase-ii-require/



Unified Agenda: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202510&RIN=0790-AM01



DoD CIO (Feb 2026): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dow-cio_ot-cyber-cybersecurity-activity-7433151492745879552-b_It

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DoD suspended CMMC Phase 2 amid concerns about cost and burden on small businesses. Now it is hoping those same contractors will embrace cybersecurity practices that are broader, more complex, and potentially more expensive than their existing requirements.



We break down DoD's remarkable explanation for its “Brilliant at the Basics” campaign, the push toward phishing-resistant MFA and broader operational technology security, and NDIA survey data showing what defense contractors already spend implementing and maintaining NIST SP 800-171 and how many lack the resources to manage those requirements.



Will the result of the CMMC Review be a more expensive cybersecurity baseline with less assurance that it is actually being implemented?



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National Defense Magazine: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2026/8/25/new-cyber-campaign-contradicts-cmmc-pause-expert-says



Brilliant at the Basics: https://dowcio.war.gov/BrilliantBasics/



Phishing resistant MFA: https://youtu.be/7aMxKNNlOxo?si=zX7Iri6uV0uVBJLJ



DIBCAC Top 10: https://summit7.us/blog/tools-to-take-on-nist-800-171



2019 DoD IG Report: https://www.dodig.mil/reports.html/Article/1916036/audit-of-protection-of-dod-controlled-unclassified-information-on-contractor-ow/

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Everyone says CMMC has an assessor shortage.



The July numbers tell a different story.



We break down the latest CMMC ecosystem data, DoD's own demand estimates, and why the real bottleneck is contractor readiness, not assessment capacity.



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Cyber AB Town Hall: https://cyberab.org/News-Events/Town-Hall



DoD Capacity Estimates: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-22905/p-1240

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DoD is reconsidering CMMC assessments and talking about reducing costs for defense contractors. But months before the Phase 2 suspension, the DoD CIO published a strategy saying the Defense Industrial Base will migrate to post-quantum cryptography, CMMC will be updated to include PQC requirements, and “costs will be incurred.”



We break down why quantum computing threatens modern encryption, the federal government's 2030/2031 migration timeline, what DoD has already said about CMMC, and what the transition could eventually cost defense contractors.



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DoD PQC Strategy: https://dowcio.war.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/DoW-PQC-Strategy.pdf



NFO Controls: https://youtu.be/YEQd--RIUkU?si=iQpR2sZY7taAbi9k



NIST PQC 101: https://www.nist.gov/cybersecurity-and-privacy/what-post-quantum-cryptography



Congress (2022): https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7535



PQC Report (2024): https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/REF_PQC-Report_FINAL_Send.pdf



PQC Executive Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/securing-the-nation-against-advanced-cryptographic-attacks/

The DoD says it's reducing cybersecurity burden on the Defense Industrial Base. At the same time, the first recommendation in the new "Brilliant at the Basics" campaign calls for phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, a capability that goes well beyond today's NIST SP 800-171 requirements.



In this episode we break down replay resistance vs. phishing resistance, explain why they are different security properties, and explore where phishing-resistant authentication fits into the NIST standards lifecycle. We also ask a simple question:



If this is now considered "basic," why isn't it in the NIST control catalog yet?



800-63: https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/63/b/4/final



Brilliant at the Basics: https://dowcio.war.gov/BrilliantBasics/