A&A Services - Pay Now or Later?

Being part of the DoD Supply Chain means taking cybersecurity seriously for your organization and the product you are developing. DoD enforces Government Compliance Requirements you should be familiar with, such as:

1. DFARS 7012, performing a NIST SP 800-171 Self Assessment and coming soon the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).
2. DoD Policy for the Assessment & Authorization (A&A) Process utilizing the Risk Management Framework (RMF) in which an Authorization Decision such as an Authorization to Operate (ATO) is rendered.

At Ingalls, we offer bundled services to support Government Compliance Requirements. We have DFARS 7012, CMMC, and RMF/ATO expertise. Ingalls is a CMMC Registered Practitioner Organization (RPO).

At Ingalls, we often get asked, “Why should I pay for A&A services in a SBIR Phase 2?”

There's nothing that says you have to, but there are some benefits to paying for A&A services upfront:

1. Save time and resources: Waiting until after a contract award to engage a cybersecurity service provider for A&A services can cause delays and extra work for your team, potentially impacting your ability to deliver on time. By engaging a provider such as Ingalls upfront, you can reduce the time and resources required to complete the A&A process, allowing you to focus on other critical tasks.

2. Mitigate risk: The A&A process identifies and mitigates potential security risks in your information systems and the technology you are building for the DoD. By engaging a cybersecurity service provider for A&A services upfront, you can ensure that any vulnerabilities or non-compliance issues are identified and addressed early.

3. Demonstrate a commitment to security: Engaging a cybersecurity service provider for A&A services upfront demonstrates your commitment to security and compliance, which can be critical in building trust with potential customers.

Ingalls can offer support by:

1. Performing a discovery and scoping call for DFARS 7012, CMMC, and RMF/ATO.
2. Providing a cost estimate for you to insert into your SBIR proposal.
3. Producing a Letter of Support to emphasize your commitment to cybersecurity by engaging with Ingalls as your cybersecurity service provider.