He feels that companies seeking a competitive advantage in the commercial aerospace industry would be wise to start positioning themselves in accordance with CMMC guidelines rather than waiting . “ It will have a huge impact on the supply chain . First , the requirements will trickle down to tier 2 and 3 suppliers . At the same time getting assessments will be increasingly hard as we approach the deadline , which will cause delays and drive up prices . Every contract that involves DoD will require all suppliers in the chain to provide proof of compliance . And this isn ’ t a cursory glance under the hood . Regulators will assess every single control , not just spot check .”
Circumventing the regulation will come at a higher cost than ever before , with the False Claims Act ( FCA ) and Whistleblower Protection Act playing a major role . In 2019 , Cisco Systems marked the first payout to a whistleblower on a False Claims Act case — brought over a failure to meet cybersecurity standards . It cost them $ 8.6 million .
The amount of time it will take suppliers to meet CMMC depends on many factors . Miller notes . " Company culture and the state of their current technology vary widely . CMMC also requires company-wide behavioral change .”
So , is it worth it ? PNDC thinks it is . Their goal is to connect manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest with the experts , resources and information that can help them assess the potential advantages of the defense and security and with those resources that can guide them through the process .
40 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS