Description
The United States’ adversaries are actively trying to steal the nation’s military and industrial advantages. Because federal contractors often store or process sensitive information, the government requires them to protect Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) within their internal IT systems.
Contractors supporting Department of Defense/Department of War programs face additional cybersecurity requirements under DFARS clause 252.204-7012. The DoW also uses DFARS clauses 252.204-7020 and 252.204-7021 to hold contractors accountable for meeting these requirements. Clause 252.204-7021 establishes the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, commonly known as CMMC.
The DoW’s suspension of Phase II of the CMMC rollout has created uncertainty across the defense contracting community. Contractors are asking what the suspension means for certification timelines, upcoming contract requirements, assessments, and investments already made toward compliance. Many are also wondering whether they should slow down their preparations or continue moving forward.
In this webinar, Adam Austin, Co-Founder and President of Totem Technologies, will explain federal cybersecurity, DFARS, and CMMC requirements in plain language. He will clarify what has changed, what has not, and what the Phase II suspension may mean for contractors and the organizations that support them.
Attendees will also learn about common implementation challenges and practical resources that can help them navigate the evolving cybersecurity compliance landscape.
Target Audience: APEX Accelerator counselors, MEP counselors, DoD contracting officers and program managers, DoD contractors and their IT staff, managed service providers, and managed security service providers.
Meet Your Instructor:
ADAM AUSTIN, Co-Founder and Cybersecurity Lead, Totem.Tech
Adam Austin is the Co-Founder and Cybersecurity Lead at Totem.Tech, a minority veteran-owned Prime DoD contractor. Mr. Austin has over a decade of experience securing classified, unclassified, and HIPAA-environment US Government IT systems, having worked with NASA, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Systems (CMS), and all branches of the Department of Defense. Adam holds a BA in Physics from Western Maryland College and a Master’s in Information Assurance from Capitol Technology University, is CISA, CISM, and Security+ certified, and is a CMMC Registered Practitioner (CMMC-RP). Adam’s mission is to leverage his experience to help small businesses in regulatory environments implement affordable, compliant, risk-based cybersecurity programs.
Dana Lacy (verified owner) –
Outstanding and informative discussion about the current state CMMC. Appreciated the clarification of the “knowns”/”unknowns” of possible schedule, potential costs, and implementation criteria. Alli shared his company’s experience and practical insights which made it much easier to evaluate the ROI of this endeavor and create a timeline to effectively prepare for the future requirement.
Melissa Barber (verified owner) –
GREAT information laid out in a way that was less intimidating than most IT-related evolving security topics. Provided resources and outlets for continued education on the CMMC state and how it effects the contracting future for the DoD. The timeline really helps to facilitate planning for this upcoming requirement.
Mark Hebert (verified owner) –
I found Mr. Adams to be EXTREMELY knowledgeable & am very grateful for his time. However, I understand we are talking about the Govt. but the acronyms were painful & there was no process discussed that I found helpful; it seemed the majority of this was Mr. Adams telling us stories & explaining what the acronyms mean. To be candid: I found it to be a waste of time.
Nikcole Merrell (verified owner) –
I appreciate all the information and the added benefit of the notes and slides so I could easily mark what I needed to do, ask, or clarify as you were speaking. Thank you for the updates on the CMMC! This is fantastic knowledge to have especially in today’s world market.
Paula Marquardt (verified owner) –
It was very enlightening and yet terrifying all at the same time. Very knowledgeable speaker.
Neil Oakshott (verified owner) –
Incredibly useful way to spend 90 minutes as Adam laid out what my company needs to do in order to comply with DoD cybersecurity requirements very well, so I can now start planning the way forward. Thankfully our compliance level is relatively light, but as and when we need to elevate this I at least now know how to begin the project.
Joyce Nowak (verified owner) –
This was one of the most clear and easy to digest webinars I have taken about CMMC. I got a lot of useful information which will help us decide if we want to keep working with the government. We have a better idea of the cost and the time required. Adam knows this subject well. I highly recommend it.