Booz Allen Named CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization; Luke Simonetti Quoted

Booz Allen Hamilton has been approved to assist other Department of Defense contracting companies in ensuring the defense industrial base’s compliance with cyber protection standards.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body authorized Booz Allen as CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization, making the firm one of the first external entities to be cleared by the Cyber AB to perform digital security work and dole out authorizations, the McLean, Virginia-based firm said Friday.

As a C3PAO organization, Booz Allen will offer CMMC readiness assessments, identify and inform other companies of gaps in their cybersecurity policies and construct applications and strategies for better defenses.

Luke Simonetti, vice president and head of the strategic consulting and advisory solutions global commercial practice at Booz Allen, remarked that the new designation builds on the firm’s status as a CMMC Registered Provider Organization, which it achieved in February 2021.

Simonetti also noted that the C3PAO accreditation means the company will “empower clients to effectively address their specific requirements in order to transform cybersecurity into a sustainable competitive advantage.”

CMMC is a function of the DOD established to maintain and intensify cybersecurity procedures in the Defense Industrial Base due to an onslaught of attacks and malware in recent years. It is intended to assist with safeguarding the DIB’s controlled unclassified information and federal contract information. Through CMMC organizations’ analysis and confirmation, the DOD can know that an entity within the DIB is behaving as securely as possible.

Booz Allen’s team served as advisers and allies in building this program and the CMMC’s set of regulations. The revised CMMC 2.0 is the direct result of efforts from executives collaborating with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment at the Pentagon.

In May, Booz Allen’s digital solutions arm received the highest score from the Capability Maturity Model Integration Institute, marking its business proficiency and efficiency.