Sum IT Up: CMMC News Roundup

DoD Already Told Contractors What’s Coming After CMMC

Speak With Our Team: https://summit7.us/contact DoD is reconsidering CMMC assessments and talking about reducing costs for defense contractors. But months before the Phase 2 suspension, the DoD CIO published a strategy saying the Defense Industrial Base will migrate to post-quantum cryptography, CMMC will be updated to include PQC requirements, and “costs will be incurred.” We break down why quantum computing threatens modern encryption, the federal government's 2030/2031 migration timeline, what DoD has already said about CMMC, and what the transition could eventually cost defense contractors. Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live DoD PQC Strategy: https://dowcio.war.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/DoW-PQC-Strategy.pdf NFO Controls: https://youtu.be/YEQd--RIUkU?si=iQpR2sZY7taAbi9k NIST PQC 101: https://www.nist.gov/cybersecurity-and-privacy/what-post-quantum-cryptography Congress (2022): https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7535 PQC Report (2024): https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/REF_PQC-Report_FINAL_Send.pdf PQC Executive Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/securing-the-nation-against-advanced-cryptographic-attacks/

The DoD's "Basic" Cybersecurity Isn't Basic at All

The DoD says it's reducing cybersecurity burden on the Defense Industrial Base. At the same time, the first recommendation in the new "Brilliant at the Basics" campaign calls for phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, a capability that goes well beyond today's NIST SP 800-171 requirements. In this episode we break down replay resistance vs. phishing resistance, explain why they are different security properties, and explore where phishing-resistant authentication fits into the NIST standards lifecycle. We also ask a simple question: If this is now considered "basic," why isn't it in the NIST control catalog yet? 800-63: https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/63/b/4/final Brilliant at the Basics: https://dowcio.war.gov/BrilliantBasics/

The DoD Said This Was "Out of Scope"... Now They're Asking About It

The DoD's CMMC Reform Task Force wants public feedback on how to reduce cost, complexity, and compliance burdens. There's just one problem. Many of the questions in the new RFI focus on topics the DoD previously said were outside the scope of the CMMC program, including NIST requirements, CUI policy, DFARS, FedRAMP, and other regulations. In this episode, we walk through each RFI question, explain what's actually part of CMMC, and discuss what realistic reform could look like under the rulemaking process. The RFI: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/89ef9bfb0834473791e991c712698d94/view Out of Scope comments: https://youtu.be/cqNpO2_PWiw?si=jyt5QVF_-4PqMuKP

CMMC Phase 2 Is Suspended... So Why Is the DoD Still Assessing Contractors?

Everyone saw the headline that CMMC Phase 2 was suspended. Almost nobody read the part that says government-led assessments are still happening. In this episode we look at what the DoD actually said, how DIBCAC decides who gets assessed, why the LogZone False Claims Act case matters, and why today's approach looks surprisingly similar to the original CMMC 1.0 phased rollout. If you think the suspension means nobody is verifying cybersecurity anymore, you may want to read the Phase 2 suspension memo one more time. Phase 2 Suspension: https://youtu.be/TfdwAc5tdMA?si=H8Dtz6Z1UbG_aYpX LogZone FCA: https://youtu.be/T5wJYnQzWws?si=ME3p2C8Sx_jhXTGJ DFARS 7020: https://youtu.be/D4JLkfvB-Ws?si=rG-4enAdaj0InsfY DoD Critical Tech: https://www.cto.mil/osc/critical-technologies/ CIO Interview: https://defensescoop.com/2026/07/17/pentagon-task-force-to-review-cmmc-hits-the-ground-running/ Suspension Memo (PDF): https://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/CMMC-ReformMemo.pdf

CMMC Phase 2 Is Suspended... But Contractor Liability Just Went UP

Miss the CUI Hotline Telethon? Watch it on-demand: https://summit7.us/event/secure-the-dib-telethon The DoD has suspended the November 2026 transition to Phase 2 of CMMC implementation, but that doesn't mean cybersecurity requirements have been relaxed. In this episode, we explain what actually changed, what didn't, why Level 2 self-assessments now matter more than ever, and how contractors could expose themselves to significant False Claims Act liability if they misunderstand the news. We also discuss the 60-day CMMC program review, the DoD's Request for Information, and what defense contractors should focus on moving forward. Phase 2 Announcement: https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4542329/forging-the-arsenal-of-freedom-department-of-war-suspends-cmmc-phase-ii-require/ Phase 2 Blog: https://summit7.us/blog/cmmc-phase-2-suspended-with-60-day-review-what-happens-next 32 CFR 170.16: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-32/section-170.16 32 CFR 170.22: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-32/subtitle-A/chapter-I/subchapter-G/part-170/subpart-D/section-170.22 False Claims Act: https://youtu.be/T5wJYnQzWws?si=pn8iwA7_8Ys_wvdq