NIST-funded small business centers push back against Pentagon messaging on CMMC preparedness

Two leaders from NIST-funded centers focused on the manufacturing sector are expressing concerns on whether small businesses will be prepared for implementation of the Pentagon’s cyber certification program on Dec. 1.

“The issue really is knowledge,” Eugene Jones, an industry advisor for Purdue University’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, said at an event Tuesday. While manufacturers in the defense industrial base recognize the need for DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, Jones said, “they have their own challenges” and cybersecurity isn’t their...