A CMMC Readiness Assessment is needed if you’re thinking about inviting a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Third Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) for an audit. It’s important to make sure you are properly prepared and in a position to be certified as compliant.

Working with an organization to perform a CMMC Readiness Assessment before a C3PAO CMMC audit saves you and your team time, headache, and money.

What is CMMC?

CMMC is an accreditation framework that establishes standards for cybersecurity across the Department of Defense defense supply chain. It provides guidelines for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), which includes information such as trade secrets, personal data, logistics data, and financial data. The goal of this certification process is to ensure information security measures are in place so organizations can protect their assets from malicious actors.

What exactly is a C3PAO?

A Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) is an independent entity certified by a government agency or industry organization to perform security assessments and evaluations.

A C3PAO has met the required standards and demonstrated its competency to assess an organization’s security posture and certify that it complies with security regulations and standards. The certification process assures stakeholders that the C3PAO has the necessary expertise and knowledge to perform impartial and accurate security assessments. 

Using a C3PAO helps organizations demonstrate their commitment to security and compliance, and provides a higher level of confidence to customers, stakeholders, and regulatory agencies.

Position Your Organization for Success

A C3PAO audit of your IT systems can be a time-consuming and stressful process, so it’s important to make sure you are adequately prepared before it begins.
A CMMC Readiness Assessment will give your team a better understanding of where your organization currently stands with CMMC compliance requirements and identify key areas that need improvement before you request a CMMC compliance audit.

Get Ready with the CMMC Readiness Assessment

The CMMC Readiness assessment will help you prepare for a successful audit from a C3PAO. A thorough CMMC Readiness Assessment will:

• Answer questions on the NIST 800-171 self-assessment
• Look at technical solutions and configurations as well as business process associations with technology
• Findings will be organized into a digestible list of recommendations to improve your score

Evaluating your IT infrastructure with a CMMC Readiness Assessment and making the necessary changes is a smart move before inviting in a C3PAO for an audit. The auditing process should be much smoother and your organization is more likely to meet CMMC compliance standards.

Contact ACE Consulting to learn more about how our CMMC Readiness Assessment will help you prepare for your organization’s CMMC audit.