Security News > 2022 > December > Federal defense contractors are not properly securing military secrets

Defense contractors hold information that's vital to national security and will soon be required to meet Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification compliance to keep those secrets safe.

Nation-state hackers are actively and specifically targeting these contractors with sophisticated cyberattack campaigns.

A shocking 87% of contractors have a sub-70 Supplier Performance Risk System score, the metric that shows how well a contractor meets Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement requirements.

The survey data of 300 US-based Department of Defense contractors was tested at the 95% confidence level, meaning that there is a 95% probability that significant differences are real and are not due to sampling error.

"We often hear about the dangers of supply chains that are susceptible to cyberattacks. The DIB is the Pentagon's supply chain, and we see how woefully unprepared contractors are despite being in threat actors' crosshairs. Our military secrets are not safe and there is an urgent need to improve the state of cybersecurity for this group, which often do not meet even the most basic cybersecurity requirements."

In addition to being largely non-compliant, an astounding 82% of contractors find it "Moderately to extremely difficult to understand the governmental regulations on cybersecurity."

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/12/01/defense-contractors-national-security/