Automapping Cybersecurity Controls to CMMC

Michael Peters

6 months ago

CMMC is a crucial framework developed by the Department of Defense to enhance the cybersecurity posture of contractors within the Defense Industrial Base. The CMMC model is crucial for organizations dealing with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) because it ensures that these entities meet specific cybersecurity requirements to protect sensitive information.

More likely than not, however, you are not just handling CMMC requirements. Changes are you are juggling multiple frameworks and regulations, all of which have unique and overlapping expectations. This is where automapping comes in.

Understanding Automapping in Cybersecurity

Automapping refers to integrating and aligning various compliance frameworks and standards into a cohesive and unified set of controls that your organization can follow to streamline compliance. This approach simplifies compliance efforts by identifying commonalities and overlapping requirements across different frameworks, allowing organizations to implement a single set of controls that meet multiple regulatory requirements.

More importantly, automapping is all about automation. Rather than manually tying different controls into a schema that matches multiple frameworks, you’d use a cloud platform and other tools like AI to control how controls map onto different requirements.

Automapping can significantly cut the time, cost, and complexity of compliance for organizations straddling different industries and lines of business.

Overlap of CMMC with Other Frameworks

CMMC is a rather complex framework, and some of its requirements and best practices can align with other regulations.

For example, CMMC can align with several prominent frameworks, including NIST SP 800-171, NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA. Understanding these overlaps can help organizations streamline compliance efforts by leveraging existing controls and practices. Here are some specific examples:

NIST SP 800-171: Both CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 focus on protecting CUI, with many controls directly aligning. Certain levels of CMMC derive their controls entirely from NIST 800-171, so aligning these two is a relatively straightforward task.
Cybersecurity Framework: CMMC incorporates practices from the NIST CSF, especially in areas like risk management and continuous monitoring. The CSF’s core expectations (Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover) can align with the CMMC’s central expectations across all significant security practices.
ISO/IEC 27001: This international standard for information security management systems (ISMS) shares several controls with CMMC, such as asset management and physical security. Specifically, there are near 1:1 relationships between ISO 27001 and CMMC concerning access control, human resource security, data security, cryptography, and other categories.
SOC 2: Many trust service criteria in SOC 2, particularly around security, availability, and confidentiality, overlap with CMMC practices. These include CMMC’s basic security and privacy requirements at nearly any level.
HIPAA: For organizations in the healthcare sector, CMMC’s focus on data protection and incident response can align with HIPAA’s security and privacy rules.

What Is the Automapping Process for CMMC?

The automapping process for CMMC is the same as for most other frameworks, albeit focusing on strict controls. Since CMMC is a government standard, it often has much more stringent expectations than others, especially those in the private sector. These private frameworks often will not include in-depth third-party audits like CMMC. However, they will all have a similar foundation for what it means to secure data.

The basic steps to automapping controls include:

Identify Common Controls: The first step in the automapping process is to conduct a thorough analysis to identify standard controls between CMMC and other frameworks. This involves reviewing each framework’s requirements and mapping them to the corresponding CMMC practices. Tools like control matrices and crosswalks can aid in this process by visually representing the overlaps and gaps.
Leverage Existing Documentation: Organizations can leverage existing cross-referencing documentation and automated compliance tools to facilitate the automapping process. Resources like the NIST SP 800-171 to CMMC mapping guides or ISO/IEC 27001 to NIST CSF crosswalks can provide a starting point. Automated tools can streamline the process by automatically identifying overlapping controls and suggesting unified control implementations.
Implement Unified Controls: Once standard controls are identified, the next step is to develop unified policies and procedures that satisfy the requirements of multiple frameworks. Unified controls simplify compliance and enhance security by ensuring consistency and comprehensiveness.
Continuous Monitoring and Updating: Maintaining compliance is an ongoing process that requires regular reviews and updates. Automated monitoring tools can ensure continuous compliance by providing real-time visibility into the security landscape and alerting organizations to deviations from established controls.
Documentation and Reporting: Comprehensive documentation is essential for demonstrating compliance and streamlining audits. Organizations should maintain detailed records of their compliance efforts, including policies, procedures, control implementations, and audit results.

Do I Have to Map Security Controls Manually?

Ideally, no.

Mapping these controls can prove to be an immensely complex and time-consuming process that we should avoid. Most organizations map different frameworks through cloud platforms that support automapping, like Continuum GRC.

Automapping uses automation (like AI) to connect different controls and policies to multiple frameworks and then uses those connections to handle complex tasks like monitoring, risk management, and reporting.

We don’t recommend doing this alone for accuracy and your sanity. The entire point of automapping is to streamline this work and save you weeks, if not months, of person-hours managing your compliance issues.

Automapping offers several significant benefits:

Increased Efficiency: By consolidating controls and leveraging existing documentation, automapping reduces the time and effort required to achieve and maintain compliance.
Consistency: Unified controls ensure that security measures are consistently applied across the organization, reducing the risk of gaps or inconsistencies.
Simplified Audits: Comprehensive documentation and integrated controls streamline the audit process, making demonstrating compliance with multiple frameworks easier.
Improved Overall Security Posture: By implementing a cohesive set of controls, organizations can enhance their security posture and better protect against cyber threats.

Start Aligning Your Compliance Obligations with Continuum GRC

Continuum GRC is a cloud platform that stays ahead of the curve, including support for all certifications (along with our sister company and assessors, Lazarus Alliance).

We are the only FedRAMP and StateRAMP-authorized compliance and risk management solution worldwide.

Continuum GRC is a proactive cyber security® and the only FedRAMP and StateRAMP-authorized cybersecurity audit platform worldwide. Call 1-888-896-6207 to discuss your organization’s cybersecurity needs and learn how we can help protect its systems and ensure compliance.

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