Beyond the Pause: How Defense Contractors Can Master CMMC Readiness

how to navigate the cmmc pause - september webinar

September 17, 2026 | 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET

When the Department of War announced a temporary pause on CMMC Phase 2 third-party assessments, many defense industrial base contractors viewed it as a chance to slow down. Halting compliance operations introduces severe operational and legal risks. Mandatory Phase 1 self-assessments remain fully active, Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) scores carry increased False Claims Act scrutiny, and prime contractors continue to enforce strict NIST SP 800-171 data flow-down demands. This operational window is a critical opportunity to harden your compliance architecture, optimize your assessment boundary, and prepare for formal third-party audits.

Join experts Choice Cyber Solutions, Aprio, and Hyperproof for a strategic discussion on navigating the current enforcement landscape. With the pause officially lifting just days before this session airs, our speakers will provide real-time reactions and analysis on the fresh news and regulatory direction from the DoW. We will look past the headlines to break down what third-party assessors look for during an audit and how contractors can build a defensible, audit-ready compliance program.

What we cover:

The enforcement landscape: How Phase 1 self-assessments and DFARS clauses remain mandatory today, and what the lifting of the DoD pause means for upcoming C3PAO Phase 2 audits.
Scoping assessment boundaries: How network segmentation and enclave architecture contain controlled unclassified information (CUI) and limit audit scope.
Cloud tooling standards: The FedRAMP Certified Class C (rev5) requirements governing compliance platforms and why commercial SaaS tools create critical audit gaps.
Scalable control operations: Strategies for cross-mapping a common control framework across CMMC, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 to eliminate redundant efforts.
Defensible evidence and SSPs: How connecting your enclave risk register to automated control health telemetry generates an auditable System Security Plan (SSP).

Stop waiting for federal timelines to shift. Learn how to build a scalable, audit-ready compliance engine that protects your defense contracts and fuels business growth.