Celerium Announces CMMC Academy Initiative to Help U.S. Department of Defense Suppliers Learn About the New 2020 Cybersecurity Mandate

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Jan 14, 2020, 09:00 ET

TYSONS CORNER, Va., Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Celerium, the leader in cyber threat sharing solutions for critical infrastructure industries, has announced the CMMC Academy as a special initiative designed to help U.S. defense industry contractors and suppliers learn about the new Department of Defense (DOD) cybersecurity compliance program intended to become operational in 2020. The Academy will be free and will provide online forums, briefings, and a help desk for defense suppliers. The Academy will hold its first online webinar on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

The CMMC program, which stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University. It is designed to provide scalable cybersecurity requirements based on five different levels of compliance.

Tommy McDowell, the newly appointed General Manager of Celerium, has an extensive background in compliance programs. He designed and implemented many compliance programs in energy, defense (DIACAP, DISCAP), and other federal agencies (NIST 800-53). He also ran his own audit company, which audited NIST standards, focusing on NIST 800-53 and DOE C2M2, NERC CIP (cybersecurity standards).

"The Department of Defense is focusing on simplifying the compliance programs for its suppliers while working to ensure that any company that contracts with the DOD is audited and certified as compliant with its cybersecurity model," said McDowell. "It will be a challenging task for any organization that supplies to the DOD, and our CMMC Academy is well-equipped to help those companies understand these requirements."

CMMC Academy: Expert Forums, Briefings, and Help Desk

"The CMMC Forum" is an online series of CMMC question-and-answer webinars and videos featuring compliance experts. The Forum also will feature CMMC interviews and panel discussions on topics such as CMMC levels, domains, controls, practices, and processes.

The first CMMC Expert Forum will be a webinar held on Thursday, January 30, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET and will provide an overview of the CMMC requirements and the timeline for compliance.

In addition to online forums, the Academy also will hold in-person CMMC briefings at its office in Tysons Corner, Va.

The Academy is also working to provide a forthcoming online CMMC Help Desk site, which is intended to help suppliers understand how to comply with the various CMMC levels, domains, controls, practices, and processes.

Membership Applications for the CMMC Academy

Contractors and subcontractors to the U.S. Department of Defense can apply for free membership in the CMMC Academy at https://CMMC.Academy

Schedule of webinars and in-person briefings by the CMMC Academy

WEBINAR: Thursday, January 30
CMMC Overview: Online webinar for CMMC Academy members only
WEBINAR: Wednesday, February 19
Differences Between CMMC and NIST 800-171: Online webinar for CMMC Academy members
For companies with NIST 800-171 backgrounds, what are the new essential requirements of CMMC? The CMMC DOD program extends previous compliance, such as NIST 800-171, by increasing the number of domains from 14 to 17. The new domains include asset management, recovery, and situational awareness.

BRIEFING: Tuesday, February 25, at the CMMC Briefing Center in Tysons Corner, Va.
CMMC Auditors Briefing (Invitation only)

BRIEFING: Thursday, February 27, in the CMMC Briefing Center in Tysons Corner, Va.
Planning for the Situational Awareness Domain: For CMMC Academy members only

About Celerium, Inc.
Celerium is the leading supplier of cyber threat intelligence sharing solutions for critical infrastructure organizations serving the defense, aviation, automotive and financial services industries. Celerium will be providing a set of Cyber Defense Network (CDN) solutions to help level 3, 4 and 5 CMMC companies comply with DOD situational awareness requirements.

Celerium also powers the next generation of information-sharing organizations, including ISAOs and ISACs. Relied on by government agencies, enterprise risk management teams, CISOs, and SOC analysts, Celerium supports all critical infrastructure and market sectors. Learn more at www.celerium.com.

SOURCE Celerium