The US Department of War’s (DoW) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is no longer a distant idea. Enforcement is kicking in November 10, 2025, and every organization in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) — from the largest prime contractors to the smallest specialist suppliers — needs to show compliance.
For midsize and smaller contractors especially, this often feels overwhelming. Acronyms like NIST 800-171 and DFARS stack up into what looks like an impossible wall of requirements. The stakes couldn’t be higher: no compliance means no contracts.
The truth? CMMC compliance feels harder than it really is.
What is CMMC? A quick refresher. #
CMMC is the Department of War’s cybersecurity standard for contractors in the supply chain.
It’s built on the NIST 800-171 security controls and applies at three levels, depending on the sensitivity of the data you handle. Level 1 requires a basic self-assessment, Level 2 adds more rigorous controls, and Level 3 demands third-party certification.
Requirements:
- Annual self-assessment and annual affirmation of compliance with the 15 security requirements in FAR clause 52.204-21.
Requirements:
- Either a self-assessment or a C3PAO assessment every three years, as specified in the solicitation.
- Decided by the type of information processed, transmitted, or stored on the contractor or subcontractor information systems.
- Annual affirmation, verify compliance with the 110 security requirements in NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2.
Requirements:
- Achieve CMMC Status of Final Level 2.
- Undergo an assessment every three years by the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center (DIBCAC).
- Provide an annual affirmation verifying compliance with the 24 identified requirements from NIST SP 800-172.
Source: Department of War
Why CMMC feels overwhelming — and why that’s misleading. #
Spend any time reading about CMMC and you’ll see references to dozens of controls, maturity levels, and technologies. Many contractors assume they’ll need months of planning, enterprise-grade platforms, and expensive integrations to have any hope of passing.
That perception fuels paralysis. Smaller teams often end up stuck between two unappealing choices:
Overbuying: Investing in heavyweight tools they may not need, simply out of fear of missing something.
Under-preparing: Hoping existing systems are “good enough,” but staying blind to gaps that could derail compliance.
The result is wasted money, wasted time, and mounting anxiety as deadlines approach.
Start where it matters: comprehensive visibility. #
Strip away the acronyms and frameworks, and CMMC compliance starts in a simple place: visibility.
You can’t protect what you can’t see. If you don’t know what assets are in your environment — from servers and laptops to IoT sensors and OT systems — you can’t possibly prove they’re secured. And without that foundation, aligning to security frameworks becomes little more than guesswork. Since CMMC requirements are built on the NIST 800-171 controls, having an accurate inventory is the first step to demonstrating compliance.
This is why so many contractors stumble. The challenge isn’t just meeting the framework on paper — it’s knowing what’s actually connected to your network in the first place.
Navigate a simpler path to CMMC compliance. #
The good news is that compliance doesn’t have to mean complex deployments or sky-high costs. What contractors need is clarity — a complete picture of their environment they can act on right away.
That’s where runZero comes in. It gives you full visibility across IT, OT, IoT, mobile, and cloud — your entire attack surface. It does this without agents, authentication, or appliances, so you see results in minutes, not months. Even fragile OT devices and unmanageable assets can be safely discovered and assessed for exposures. And it scales whether you’re running a 50-device shop or managing thousands of endpoints.
That visibility also uncovers what many tools miss: devices that may violate Section 889 restrictions or include banned components hidden deep in your network, from IP cameras to routers and other connected hardware. runZero’s high-fidelity fingerprinting precisely identifies each device, avoiding the mis-detections that plague traditional scanners and giving you data you can trust.
As we’ve seen with other DIB customers, runZero is already helping organisations quickly identify gaps, align with requirements, and move forward with confidence on their compliance journey.
With runZero, visibility is immediate, accurate, and actionable — without the need for long deployment cycles or a sprawling tech stack. That speed gives you breathing room when deadlines are closing in.
From visibility to action: achieving NIST 800-171 alignment. #
Once you know what you’ve got, you have the foundation needed to ensure alignment with the NIST 800-171 security controls. This information enables you to confirm where you’re already covered, where remediation is needed, and how to prioritize fixes — turning visibility into a concrete compliance plan.
runZero helps organizations move faster on this journey by providing the comprehensive asset inventory and exposure insights that CMMC controls rely on, from Asset Management to Risk Assessment and Continuous Monitoring. Other DIB customers — from newer contractors to established players of all sizes — are already using runZero to accelerate their path to compliance.
For smaller and midsize contractors in CMMC Level 1 or Level 2, this can make the difference between feeling stuck and being ready to self-assess with confidence.
Instead of overspending on unnecessary tools, you can focus your budget where it really matters. And you avoid last-minute scrambles at audit time. Instead, you’ll have a defensible inventory tied to CMMC controls — evidence you can put in front of auditors with confidence.
Compliance without the headache: prepare fast, stay in the DoW supply chain. #
CMMC isn’t going away. Enforcement is starting, and contracts are on the line. But the path forward is simpler than many imagine. You don’t need endless checklists, massive platforms, or months of disruption.
You need visibility. Once you have it, compliance stops being a mystery and starts being a manageable process.
runZero delivers that visibility — fast, accurate, and without unnecessary complexity or overhead. With a complete view of your environment and exposures, you’ll know exactly what you have and what needs attention. By eliminating blind spots with runZero — including the shadow IT and unmanaged devices traditional tools miss — you can reduce risks faster, prove compliance to stakeholders and regulators, and stay audit-ready year-round.
Compliance doesn’t have to feel harder than it is. Start with visibility. Stay in the DoW supply chain. And take control of your CMMC journey today.
See how simple compliance can be. Try runZero free for 21 days and get complete visibility across your IT, OT, and IoT environments.
