You’re only as secure as your last evaluation
Brief
The updated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) represents a critical evolution in the Department of War (DoW) strategy to secure the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). It is more than a regulatory hurdle. It is a direct response to a rapidly changing and increasingly hostile threat landscape faced by the DIB.
Updated CMMC guidance issued in 2025 simplifies the prior framework, focusing on the most essential security practices aligned with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171.
Its fundamental purpose remains unchanged: to protect sensitive, unclassified defense information — specifically Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) — from foreign adversaries.
Horizon3
The updated CMMC phases.