No Summer Break for Cyber: Newly Unveiled CMMC Assessment Process Provides Industry with Upcoming Assessment Insights
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.01.22
After much anticipation, the Cyber AB, formerly known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Accreditation Body, recently released its pre-decisional draft CMMC Assessment Process (CAP). The CAP describes the overarching procedures and guidance that CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAOs) will use to assess entities seeking CMMC certification. The current version of the CAP applies to contractors requiring CMMC Level 2 certification, which will likely be most contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) based on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) provisional scoping guidance for CMMC 2.0.
Aimed at increasing the accuracy and consistency of assessments conducted by C3PAOs, the CAP is segmented into four distinct phases:
Phase 1: Plan and Prepare the Assessment;
Phase 2: Conduct the Assessment;
Phase 3: Report Assessment Results; and
Phase 4: Close-Out Plan of Action and Milestones (POAMs) and Assessment.
While the assessment process is still in draft form, DoD contractors should familiarize themselves with the proposed structure and conduct of CMMC assessments, as these parameters will be critical to companies attaining CMMC certification at the level requisite for future government contract awards.
The Cyber AB is currently accepting comments on the draft CAP.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
