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We’re proud to announce that on April 21st at 11am EDT, Titania will welcome Dr. Ron Ross, NIST Fellow and principal architect of the NIST SP 800-171 and SP 800-53 control frameworks, and John Weiler, Co-Founder of the IT Acquisition Advisory Council (ITAAC) to our webinar panel discussion alongside Titania CEO, Phil Lewis, and Matt Malarkey, Co-Chair of CMMC CoE Supply Chain Working Group. They will be discussing the role of cybersecurity standards in advancing supply chain risk management in the United States and beyond.

Following the significant cyberattack on the United States government and federal agencies in 2020, there is a clear critical need to improve and enhance cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and the overall security of the supply chain for the United States government.

At least six US federal agencies including the departments of Energy, Commerce, Treasury and State were said to be affected by the Sunburst breach and its impact is said to be ongoing. As the United States government looks to the future under the Biden administration, there will undoubtedly be a review of its cybersecurity strategy and the ways in which it can mitigate future attacks. Alongside internal operations and heightened cyber hygiene considerations, we predict there will be heightened scrutiny of the cybersecurity resilience of the federal supply chain.

Indeed, in 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework. This new rule includes new DFARS clause 252.204-7021, which specifies CMMC cybersecurity requirements for the DoD supply chain and enables the DoD to verify the protection of Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) within the unclassified networks of defense industrial base (DIB) companies. Starting in the fiscal year 2021, the Department commenced a pilot implementation of CMMC requirements for CMMC Maturity Level 3 and below on a select number of acquisitions. Additionally, in February 2021, NIST published Special Publication 800-172 which supplements NIST SP 800-171 and is designed to protect CUI from advanced persistent threats (APTs).

Therefore, as part of our 60-minute discussion, our expert panellists will be discussing the roles that cybersecurity standards such as NIST SP 800-171 and NIST SP 800-172, together with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMMC), can play to better enable US government contractors to achieve their cybersecurity goals. The team will uncover valuable insights into key themes, including the importance and role of these standards in improving security and resilience; the use of controls to buy-down cybersecurity risk; the role of evidence in supply chain risk management; and the relationship between compliance and security.

Speaking of the upcoming webinar, Titania CEO Phil Lewis said: “We know that cybersecurity standards including NIST and CMMC are essential eligibility criteria for those looking to secure significant and long-term government contracts in 2021 and beyond. Following the developments and breaches over the last 12 months, at Titania we believe these standards will prove critical to building a cyber resilient US federal supply chain starting with the defense industrial base, but also across supply chains in allied nations to improve consistency and standards. I look forward to delving into this topic further with Dr. Ross and Mr Weiler and bringing their perspectives to the table.”

Titania is already in partnership with the CMMC Center of Excellence, which is working to extend efforts to identify and include proven capabilities with the CoE community to improve cybersecurity protection and resilience for the global defense industrial base of contractors, vendors and suppliers. To secure your place, visit: https://info.titania.com/webinar-dr-ron-ross