February 28, 2023
Defense contractors need to migrate and upgrade to support CMMC compliance. The problem — particularly for small and medium companies where only a subset of the work is defense oriented — is that this requirement can make compliance economically challenging, if not impossible. Many companies simply cannot afford to bring compliance to their whole workforce.
So, what is the solution?
This is where an enclave approach comes in. By using this tactic, companies can deploy the technology platform to only those employees handling Controlled Unclassified Information, or CUI.
The Enclave Solution to CMMC
An enclave approach means the company deploys the technology for protecting CUI to a part of the organization. In fact, the enclave approach for CMMC compliance is actually supported by the DoD. In the DoD’s own words:
“When implementing CMMC, a DIB contractor can achieve a specific CMMC level for its entire enterprise network or for a particular segment(s) or enclave(s) depending upon where the information to be protected is handled and stored.”
And according to NIST:
“Isolating CUI into its own security domain by applying architectural design concepts may be the most cost-effective and efficient approach for non-federal organizations to satisfy the security requirements and protect the confidentiality of CUI.”
For these reasons, the enclave approach makes sense — especially because of the extra layer of professional security and assistance it comes with. Plus, it’s more economically viable.
Why You Should Use an Enclave
The main advantage of using the enclave approach is that it reduces the cost of supporting CMMC compliance and minimizes business disruption. Only those individuals in the company managing CUI need to migrate to the technology platform and include it in their work stream. Meanwhile, employees that don’t manage CUI don’t need to alter their work process at all.
Another benefit is that the enclave approach reduces overall training requirements and expedites the speed of implementation. Since only those employees handling CUI need enclave training, the company can quickly get on track to managing and securing sensitive data.
How to Begin an Enclave Approach
The best place to start is with GovCon Enclave. Rimstorm GovCon Enclave™ is the only comprehensive solution backed by a CMMC-AB candidate C3PAO organization. It provides government contractors and their teaming partners a cost-effective solution to meet over 90% of CMMC practices. Rapid implementation and ongoing support makes Rimstorm GovCon Enclave™ the obvious choice for DIB contractors handling CUI.
Our enclave solution has a comprehensive feature set, including the core encrypted enclave. It contains a compliance engine that allows for the creation, maintenance, and enforcement of policies and procedures. It comes with extensive access control features, including private certificates and private DNS, a managed SIEM with SOC support, incident alerting and reporting, and a sophisticated IDS to detect threats. It even includes training with ongoing workshops to help ensure you maintain your compliance.
If your organization is looking for a cost effective but extremely comprehensive enclave approach, contact us. We’ll set you up with everything you need for CMMC compliance.