“Thousands of our neighbors, friends and families in New England are serving in or working for the military,” says Polaris MEP cybersecurity Jean Lehman. “There are aggressive attacks aimed at stealing information to kill our warfighters, to destroy our military systems, to acquire our technology and to undermine our nation. The battle’s being waged here at home on bases, in offices, in manufacturing facilities big and small.

          “Cybersecurity is the front we all fight on.”

To help manufacturers become more resilient to cybersecurity attacks, Polaris MEP has been hosting online sessions sponsored by the New England Regional Defense Industry Collaboration (NERDIC) with guidance for manufacturing companies in the DoD Supply Chain.

These seminars address current DFARS requirements for safeguarding information, future Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), and the importance of incorporating cyber resiliency into ongoing business practices.

Two webinars have been held — and recorded! — so far to support Rhode Island manufacturers with defense contracts. (See below.)

A third session, “New DFARS Interim Rule for DoD Assessments & CMMC,” is scheduled for 11am November 10th. Register today to learn about new self-reporting requirements on Contractors and Subcontractors under the new interim rule. The rule is effective November 30, 2020 and scores must be reported to DoD’s Supplier Performance Risk System before contracts are awarded.

On-Demand Cybersecurity Guidance for Rhode Island Manufacturers

Polaris MEP and NERDIC* have uploaded recordings of the first two sessions in the series. The videos are an on-demand resource for manufacturing companies in the Defense Supply Chain.

• • DFARS Cybersecurity Clause 252.204-7012 Requirements / Safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

    In the first video, you’ll learn about DFARS cybersecurity clause 252.204-7012 requirements and related guidance for safeguarding controlled unclassified information (CUI). Presenter Jean Lehman also breaks down key DFARS -7012 requirements related to adequate security, incident reporting and subcontractor flow down.

    As Jean notes in the recording, future requirements (Cyber Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC) build on existing requirements. So this video helps answer “what now” and starts to prepare manufacturers for “what’s next.”

• • Cloud Computing Under DFARS-7012: Resolving a Common Obstacle on the Path to CMMC

    Jeff Williams is a national leader in the effort to educate and equip small and medium-sized manufacturers to guard against the growing threat of cyber-attacks. He is a Program Manager for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, the official representative of the MEP National Network™ in Michigan. (Polaris MEP is the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for Rhode Island.)

    Jeff joined Jean for the second session to help New England manufacturers and their managed IT services partners deal with a common obstacle to compliance with DFARS cybersecurity clause 252.204-7012: Cloud Computing.

   

Don’t miss the third installment in this NERDIC webinar series! Click here to RSVP for our November 10 session on the new DFARS interim rule: https://go.polarismep.org/cybersecurity-maturity-manufacturing-DFARS. 

* This report was prepared under contract with the State of Vermont, as fiscal agent for the New England Regional Defense Industry Collaboration, with financial support from the Office of Economic Adjustment, U.S. Department of Defense. The content reflects the views of the New England Regional Defense Collaboration and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Economic Adjustment, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the participating states.