The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a cybersecurity framework established by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It ensures that Defense Industrial Base (DIB) partners, including research institutions, protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI). The CMMC is divided into three progressively tiered maturity levels, with requirements varying based on the type and sensitivity of data handled. Level 1 is foundational, requiring compliance with 15 basic requirements. Level 2 involves more advanced cyber hygiene practices, aligning with 110 controls from NIST SP 800-171. Level 3, the most stringent, includes over 115 requirements based on both NIST SP 800-171 and 800-172 controls.
Importance of CMMC Compliance for Research Institutions
Research institutions conducting significant research activity play a crucial role in supporting DoD-related initiatives. Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Cloud provides a comprehensive cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) that helps universities meet CMMC requirements across AWS, Azure, GCP, and hybrid cloud environments.
- Comprehensive Visibility and Control:
- Offers deep visibility into cloud environments to track and manage sensitive data.
- Enforces strict access controls and detects potential risks.
- Continuous Security Posture Monitoring:
- Performs ongoing configuration and compliance checks.
- Assesses security postures of cloud workloads, containers, and serverless environments.
- Automated Compliance Reporting:
- Generates automated reports aligned with NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC standards.
- Simplifies audit preparation and reduces the burden of manual reporting.
- Advanced Threat Detection and Response:
- Provides near-real-time threat detection for anomalous activity.
- Aligns with CMMC incident-handling requirements, enabling swift response to security incidents.
- Least Privilege Enforcement and IAM Security:
- Manages and restricts user access based on roles and responsibilities.
- Ensures compliance with identification, authentication, and access controls.
