A C3PAO (CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization) is a company authorized by the Cyber AB and accredited under ISO/IEC 17020 to conduct official CMMC Level 2 certification assessments of defense contractors. Only a C3PAO listed on the Cyber AB Marketplace can issue the assessment that leads to CMMC Level 2 certification — consultants, MSPs, and RPOs […]
ISO 27001 is a certifiable international standard for running an information security management system (ISMS); SOC 2 is a US attestation report where a CPA firm audits your controls against the Trust Services Criteria. Rule of thumb: selling to European or global enterprises → ISO 27001; selling SaaS to US companies → SOC 2 Type […]
A CMMC compliance checklist has two tracks: Level 1 (17 basic safeguarding practices, annual self-assessment, for Federal Contract Information) and Level 2 (all 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls, SPRS score plus possible C3PAO assessment, for Controlled Unclassified Information). The practical work falls into six phases: scope, gap-assess, plan, remediate, document, and assess. This checklist reflects […]
NIST SP 800-171 defines 110 security requirements, organized into 14 control families, that any organization handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) must implement. Each control carries an official DoD SPRS point weight of 5, 3, or 1, and a perfect self-assessment score is 110 (the scale starts at -203). This page lists every control with its […]
Updated 2 August 2026 On 15 August 2026 the Netherlands becomes the latest EU country where NIS2 obligations bite: the Cyberbeveiligingswet enters into force with no transition period. Two days ago, on 31 July, Germany’s BSI registration grace period expired — leaving thousands of companies formally in breach. Belgium and Denmark are already auditing. If […]
The best IT staff augmentation companies in 2026 for MSPs and internal IT teams – security-capable NOC/SOC engineers, L1-L3 support, and how augmentation compares with hiring or outsourcing.
Ranked NIS2 readiness consultancies for Nordic and Norwegian companies in 2026 – from fixed-fee SMB programmes to big-4 board advisory, with the Norway/digitalsikkerhetsloven angle explained.
SOC 2 Type 2 requires an independent CPA audit – but readiness determines whether you pass. Ranked readiness consultants and audit firms for 2026, plus how platforms like Vanta and Drata fit in.
An honest, criteria-based ranking of ISO 27001 consultants for small and mid-sized businesses in 2026 – implementation firms, toolkit vendors and audit-side players, with guidance on which model fits which company.
The Department of War suspended CMMC Phase II on July 13, 2026. Direct answers: the November 10 deadline, pausing assessments, DFARS 7012/7019/7021, SPRS, ITAR/EAR, and what to expect after the 60-day review.
