The Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors (AGC) partners with Ignyte Institute to accelerate the education and adaptation of their members to the emerging cybersecurity certification requirements for Defense Construction Contractors.
As it was announced a month ago, all contractors and vendors working with DoD had to perform a self-assessment of their cybersecurity compliance with NIST SP 800-171 by 01 Dec 2020, and register their score with the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS). This is just an initial step in the upcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) that soon will be the minimum requirement to be eligible for DoD contract awards.
CMMC is built on the foundation of NIST 800-171, which up until recently, dictated the cybersecurity standards that all DIB construction companies had to follow. One of the most significant differences between NIST 800-171 and CMMC is the shift from self-assessment to external assessments of cybersecurity compliance, which will be performed by Third Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAO).
Starting in the fiscal year 2021, some construction companies that bid or plan to work on DoD projects, or their agencies such as the Corp of Engineers, might be subject to the pilot implementation of CMMC requirements mandating a certification between Level 1 and Level 3 to qualify for government contracts. Overall, after the full transition to CMMC, as a unified cybersecurity standard, defense contractors will be required to obtain certification corresponding to one of the five different maturity levels in order to be eligible for contract award.
“In order to assist our members, which include over 370 commercial construction companies throughout our region, with more efficient and rapid adaptation to these new cybersecurity standards,” says Cheryl Stewart, Executive Director at NWAGC. “We chose to leverage our efforts and partner with industry experts such as Ignyte Institute. Their educational courses on CMMC have been proven to be an effective tool to bring other WA state-based companies up to speed on their cybersecurity knowledge and readiness in a relatively short time.”
The Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors (AGC) will collaborate with Ignyte Institute to launch a CMMC-adaptation program designed to introduce the emerging DoD-sponsored regulations to local construction companies and equip them with the necessary resources to prepare for the new standards.
“We are joining NWAGC to take the pressure off their members, faced with current changes in cybersecurity framework, by streamlining their manual processes and enabling their members to maintain their competitive edge in the construction industry, continue their projects with DoD, and win new ones without any deviation from their business goals and objectives,” said Max Aulakh, CEO of Ignyte Institute.
For more information about NWAGC’s DoD Cybersecurity consulting and CMMC Readiness training program visit: https://www.ignyteinstitute.org/partnership-nwagc/.