In episode 158 of Cybersecurity Where You Are, Sean Atkinson is joined by Andy Weidner, Product Manager at Nerdio, and Jason Ingalls, Chief Cybersecurity Officer at C3 Integrated Solutions. Together, they explore how organizations can navigate the complexities of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance using automation, scalable infrastructure, and hardened cloud environments.

The conversation dives into the challenges faced by managed service providers (MSPs) and defense contractors, the importance of baking in security from the start, and how Nerdio’s platform acts as a force multiplier for compliance and operational efficiency. Jason shares a compelling anecdote from his time in a security operations center (SOC), illustrating the real-world stakes of cybersecurity and the origins of CMMC.

Here are some highlights from our episode:

• 00:44. Introductions to Andy and Jason
• 01:17. How to address common challenges of CMMC compliance
• 03:40. A real-world story of data exfiltration and its national security impact
• 08:34. How Nerdio and CIS Hardened Images® help organizations in their CMMC journey
• 12:15. Understanding the vision to scale configuration management
• 18:14. Strategy and automation as key elements to approaching CMMC Level 2
• 25:19. The value of baking scalability in vs. bolting it on
• 26:38. Segregation of duties as a means of pursuing dual-scope CMMC certification
• 29:22. Where to learn more about Nerdio and C3 Integrated Solutions

Resources

• Nerdio
• C3 Integrated Solutions
• CIS Hardened Images®
• How to Plan a Cybersecurity Roadmap in 4 Steps
• CIS Controls v8.1 Mapping to CMMC 2.0
• CIS Controls v8.1 Mapping to NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5
• CIS Controls v8.1 Mapping to NIST SP 800-171 Rev 3

If you have some feedback or an idea for an upcoming episode of Cybersecurity Where You Are, let us know by emailing [email protected].