75% don’t prioritize CMMC — but 100% will need it by November 2028.
The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) rollout is no longer a future concern. It is rapidly becoming a contract eligibility requirement with a fixed end date. This solution brief, drawn from Keysight’s commissioned primary research on CMMC readiness across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), explains why the deadline is unavoidable and why organizations that delay preparation face growing competitive and operational risk.
CMMC represents a fundamental shift in how cybersecurity will be evaluated and enforced across the defense supply chain, impacting more than 100,000 DIB companies. This brief clarifies the phased rollout, from the rule’s initial effective date through the final point at which compliance becomes mandatory for applicable DoD contracts, and explains how requirements will progressively appear in solicitations over time. It also outlines how CMMC levels and assessment expectations escalate across phases, particularly for contracts involving Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), creating a clear, time-bound imperative for organizations to plan and act early.
The brief also highlights why automation and evidence-based validation are increasingly essential. The volume of data, the complexity of the NIST controls underpinning CMMC Level 2, and the speed required for modern cyber defense make manual compliance approaches difficult to sustain. For contractors, the stakes extend beyond regulatory alignment: CMMC readiness directly influences contract eligibility, competitiveness, and supply chain trust. Finally, the brief outlines how Keysight helps organizations move beyond static documentation to continuously validated cybersecurity assurance.
Read more here.
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