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HIFENCE

CMMC Compliance Consultant for the DoD Supply Chain

You find out exactly where you stand against NIST SP 800-171, what it takes to close the gaps, and what an assessor will ask for. CMMC readiness and implementation for defense primes and subcontractors - the certification assessment itself is performed by an authorized C3PAO, and we prepare you to walk into it with evidence, not excuses.

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Why HIFENCE?

23
companies guided through compliance
0
breaches across active HIFENCE clients
50+
professional certifications across the team
15
years of industry experience
OSCECompTIA CNVPCEH MasterOSEDOSCE3OSCPOSWP
SABSAPalo Alto PCNSEFortinet NSE 4CISSP-ISSAPCISSPCheck Point CCSECisco CCNP Security

Your readiness work is led by senior engineers who are also certified in offensive security - people who know how the 110 controls fail in practice, not just what the checklist says.

Who CMMC readiness is for

Usually, CMMC becomes urgent for a concrete reason: a prime sent a flow-down letter, a solicitation names a CMMC level, your SPRS score is due, or a contracting officer asked a question nobody internally can answer.

If you hold DoD work under DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST SP 800-171 has been a contractual obligation for years. CMMC is the verification layer on top: instead of promising compliance, you now have to demonstrate it - and the requirements are being phased into new solicitations and flowed down through the DoD supply chain by primes.

If that sounds familiar, you probably also have the questions this engagement exists to answer:

  • Do you handle CUI, or only FCI? The answer decides between CMMC Level 1 and Level 2 - and they are very different projects.
  • Is the SPRS score you posted defensible if DoD or a prime asks how you calculated it?
  • Could you produce a current System Security Plan tomorrow?
  • If the RFP that names Level 2 lands next quarter, are you assessment-ready in time?

CMMC Level 1 or CMMC Level 2: know which project you are running

CMMC Level 1 - you handle FCI

Basic safeguarding of Federal Contract Information: the 15 requirements from FAR 52.204-21, verified through an annual self-assessment and an affirmation submitted in SPRS - no third-party assessment. The catch: an executive signs that affirmation personally. We implement the 15 requirements and document them so the signature is defensible, not hopeful.

CMMC Level 2 - you handle CUI

Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information: all 110 requirements of NIST SP 800-171. Most contracts require a certification assessment every three years by an authorized C3PAO, with only a limited POA&M allowed at assessment time. This is a real project - scoping, remediation, documentation, evidence - and it is the one we take companies through end to end.

A small set of programs will additionally require Level 3, assessed by the government itself on top of a Level 2 certification - and even there, the NIST SP 800-171 foundation comes first. Not sure which level your contracts imply? That is the first thing the scoping call establishes.

How the CMMC readiness process works

1. Scoping call (30 minutes, free)

Which contracts and flow-downs you hold, whether you touch CUI or only FCI, where that data actually lives, and whether an enclave beats bringing your whole network into scope. This is where we tell you honestly which level you are dealing with and how big the project really is. Sometimes cutting scope is worth more than any tool you could buy.

2. Gap assessment against NIST SP 800-171

All 110 requirements, control by control, scored with the DoD Assessment Methodology so the result maps directly to your SPRS score. Interviews and configuration review with your IT team, not over their heads - and no business disruption. You get the same picture a C3PAO would build, before it counts.

3. Remediation and assessment readiness

We close the gaps in priority order with your team - or hands-on with us - and build the System Security Plan, POA&M, policies, and evidence packages. For Level 2, we help you select and schedule a C3PAO and run a dry pass of the interviews and evidence requests before the real ones.

The gap assessment takes 2–3 weeks from receiving access. The road from there to assessment-ready depends on what it finds - you know the realistic timeline and the fixed quote before you commit to anything.

The first step is a 30-minute call.

Schedule a call

What you actually get: NIST 800-171 gap assessment, SSP, POA&M

  • Gap assessment report - every NIST SP 800-171 requirement scored with the DoD methodology, so you know your real SPRS number, how you got it, and exactly what moves it.
  • System Security Plan (SSP) - the document every assessment starts from, describing how each requirement is actually met in your environment. Not template filler.
  • POA&M and prioritized remediation plan - what is closed, what is open, who owns it, with effort estimates so you can budget. CMMC allows only a limited POA&M at assessment time, so the plan closes the items that cannot be deferred first.
  • Policies, procedures, and evidence - written and collected the way assessors ask for them, mapped to the requirements they support.
  • Presentation sessions - one for leadership in business language (an executive signs the affirmation; they should understand what they are signing), and a technical one with IT covering the concrete steps.
  • Some of the remediation your own IT team can implement. We tell you exactly which parts - the report is not tied to future services.

Where HIFENCE ends and the C3PAO begins

The CMMC market is full of confident promises - "guaranteed certification" among them. Nobody outside an authorized assessor can grant a certification, and assessors do not sell readiness.

So you know exactly what you are buying, we are just as clear about what this engagement is not:

We are not a C3PAO.

Level 2 certification assessments are performed by C3PAOs authorized through the Cyber AB - a separate, accredited role. We prepare you for that assessment and support you through it; we do not perform or grade it. Keeping preparation and assessment separate is exactly what protects the result.

It is not compliance in a box.

No platform subscription or template pack passes an assessment on its own. Assessors test whether controls are implemented and operating in your environment - templates only help after someone makes them true.

It is not a paperwork exercise.

The 110 requirements are real security controls: access control, monitoring, incident response. Done properly, the work that earns the certificate is the same work that keeps you off the front page.

Where CMMC fits in your security program

Built on NIST SP 800-171

CMMC Level 2 is NIST SP 800-171 with verification on top. If your broader security program runs on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the two reinforce each other - one set of controls, two audiences.

NIST framework services →

One compliance practice

Defense work rarely comes alone - the same company often faces SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA from other customers. We map the overlaps so you implement controls once and reuse the evidence everywhere.

Compliance advisory →

After the certificate

Certification is a snapshot; the affirmation you sign every year is not. A fractional security leader keeps controls operating and evidence current - and a periodic penetration test shows they hold up against a real attacker.

vCISO services →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CMMC Level 1 and CMMC Level 2?
Level 1 applies when you handle Federal Contract Information (FCI): 15 basic safeguarding requirements, verified by an annual self-assessment and an executive affirmation in SPRS. Level 2 applies when you handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI): all 110 requirements of NIST SP 800-171, and for most contracts a certification assessment by an authorized C3PAO every three years. A small set of programs adds Level 3, assessed by the government itself on top of a Level 2 certification. Which level applies is driven by the data in your contracts - and that is the first thing we establish.
Do we need a C3PAO, or can we self-assess?
Level 1 is always a self-assessment. At Level 2, most contracts require an assessment by a C3PAO - a Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization authorized through the Cyber AB - while a smaller subset allows self-assessment; your solicitation says which. HIFENCE is not a C3PAO: we do the readiness and implementation work, help you choose an assessor from the Cyber AB marketplace, and support you through the assessment itself.
How long does CMMC readiness take?
The gap assessment takes 2-3 weeks from access. Remediation depends entirely on what it finds: a company with mature IT and a tight enclave moves much faster than one bringing a flat network into scope - for Level 2, realistic projects run in months, not weeks. That is exactly why starting when the solicitation lands is late, and starting before it is cheap. The gap assessment gives you the real timeline before you commit to anything.
How much does a CMMC compliance consultant cost?
It depends on the level, your scope, and where you start - a Level 1 self-assessment and a full Level 2 readiness project are very different engagements. That is what the 30-minute scoping call is for: at the end of it you receive a proposal with a fixed quote, scoped to your environment - not an open-ended hourly meter.
What are an SSP and a POA&M - and do we really need them?
Yes, at every level of maturity. The System Security Plan (SSP) describes how each NIST SP 800-171 requirement is met in your environment - it is the first document any assessor asks for, and your SPRS score is not defensible without it. The POA&M (Plan of Action and Milestones) tracks the requirements you have not met yet, with owners and dates. At assessment time CMMC allows only a limited POA&M - the highest-weighted requirements cannot be deferred, and open items must close within 180 days - so both documents have to be honest, current, and maintained.
We are a small subcontractor with one DoD prime. Does CMMC really apply to us?
Almost certainly, because the requirements flow down by contract: primes must verify their supply chain, so the clause reaches you regardless of company size. If you touch FCI you are looking at Level 1; if CUI flows to you, Level 2. The lever a small sub actually controls is scope - a well-designed enclave can keep a Level 2 project manageable instead of company-wide. If you are not sure whether anything in your environment counts as CUI, that is exactly the kind of question the scoping call settles in minutes.

The next step for your DoD pipeline

30 minutes on your situation: which level your contracts imply, how big the gap is, how long closing it takes, and what it costs. If Level 1 and honest documentation is all you need, we tell you straight.

Schedule a scoping call

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