According to DoD officials, small businesses are increasingly being targeted by nation states’ cyberattacks. Katie Arrington, special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition for cyber, says the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) will protect these vulnerable systems. However, the new requirements may hit smaller companies harder.
McCarter partner Alex Major said, “Until we see the whole scope of who [the CMMC is] going to apply to and why it’s going to apply to them, it could impact a lot of small companies.”
McCarter partner Franklin Turner said that Arrington’s assertion that the CMMC would cost only a few thousand dollars is “utterly foolish,” adding it would “likely be an impediment” for small companies.