The New CMMC Compliance Rule: What It Means for Defense Contractors and How Blumira Makes Compliance Achievable

If your organization is one of the more than 220,000 in the Defence Industrial Base (DIB), the acronym “CMMC” has likely infiltrated your vocabulary and maybe even causes some regular stress. The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program is the Department of Defences’s (DoD) answer to a critical problem: sophisticated cyber threats targeting its vast supply chain.

This isn’t just another compliance checkbox. This is a fundamental shift in how the DoD validates the security of its partners. For many small to medium-sized businesses in the defense sector, the requirements, especially for CMMC Level 2, can seem daunting and expensive. For years, compliance has been a looming requirement. You may have even noticed CMMC started appearing in DoD solicitations and contracts as early as 2024, but with the recent finalization of the CMMC rule, the clock has officially started ticking for compliance in everything.

While the new CMMC rule introduces stricter cybersecurity requirements, achieving and maintaining compliance is very doable. With the right partner and the right technology, you can build a robust security foundation that satisfies auditors and genuinely protects your organization from modern threats.

The New CMMC Rule as of November 10, 2025

The CMMC program is designed to protect Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CUI is information the government creates or holds that needs to be safeguarded, but it isn’t actually classified. Think of it as data that is “sensitive but not secret” like technical drawings, health reports, or contract details.

The new CMMC 2.0 framework streamlines the original model into three levels.

• Level 1: For organizations that only handle FCI. This level requires an annual self-assessment based on 15 fundamental security controls. 
• Level 2: This is the new standard for all contractors who handle CUI. It is directly aligned with the 110 security controls outlined in NIST SP 800-171. This level requires a third-party assessment every three years for most contractors.
• Level 3: For contractors handling the most sensitive CUI, this level involves over 110 controls based on NIST SP 800-172 and requires a government-led assessment.

For the majority of defense contractors, CMMC Level 2 is the target. This is where the new rule raises the bar significantly, moving beyond simple self confirmation to requiring verifiable proof of security implementation

Breaking Down the Security Tool Requirements by Level

While CMMC encompasses policies, procedures, and physical security, a large portion of its controls are technical. Let’s look at the foundational tools required.

All Levels: Basic Cyber Hygiene

• Anti-malware/anti-virus software: You must have solutions in place to detect and quarantine malicious software. This is your first line of defense against known threats.
• Firewalls: Acting as a digital gatekeeper, a firewall monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious data packets.
• Secure access control: This means ensuring every user has a unique account, enforcing strong password policies, and generally limited access to information on a need to know basis.

Level 2 (Advanced): Building a Defensible Fortress

To achieve CMMC Level 2, you must implement all 110 controls from NIST 800-171. Several of these controls mandate specific technologies that work together to provide comprehensive security.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Passwords alone are not enough. CMMC Level 2 requires MFA for both local and network access by all users. This means combining something you know (a password) with something you have (a text message, authenticator app, or hardware key). 
• Data encryption (FIPS 140-2 validated): You must protect CUI both when it’s stored (at rest) and when it’s being sent (in transit). This requires using encryption solutions that are FIPS 140-2 validated, a U.S. Government standard for cryptographic modules. 
• Vulnerability scanning: You can’t protect against weaknesses you don’t know you have. CMMC requires regular vulnerability scanning of your systems and applications to identify flaws before an attacker can exploit them. 
• SIEM (Security Information and Event Management): This is a cornerstone of CMMC compliance. You are required to collect, manage, and analyze logs from all critical systems. These could be servers, firewalls, applications, etc. A SIEM solution centralizes these logs, correlates events to identify potential threats, and retains them for a required period for auditing and incident investigation. 
• Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR): While antivirus scans for known virus signatures, EDR monitors for suspicious behaviors across your endpoints. It can detect more advanced threats like ransomware, fileless malware, and attacker lateral movement. All critical for stopping a breach in its tracks.

SIEM and EDR requirements can be the most intimidating. They often require specialized, 24/7 security staff to manage, tune, and respond to the flood of alerts they can generate.

Why Blumira Is the Ideal Compliance Partner

The Blumira security operations platform is ideal for providing the advanced security capabilities of a SIEM and EDR solution without the complexity and overhead that typically come with them. We make compliance accessible for IT teams of any size.

Here’s how Blumira provides the security foundation and automation needed to meet and maintain CMMC Level 2 compliance efficiently.

1. A Cloud-Based SIEM Built for Compliance

Blumira’s platform directly addresses the CMMC Level 2 requirements for log management and threat detection. It integrates with your existing technology stack, from firewalls and endpoints to cloud applications like Microsoft 365, to collect and centralize all your security logs in one place.

Unlike traditional SIEMs that just collect data and leave the analysis to you, Blumira’s platform automatically parses, enriches, and analyzes this data using detection rules built and maintained by our expert security engineers. These rules are specifically designed to spot the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by real-world attackers.

2. Easy Deployment and Rapid Time-to-Security

Many organizations fear that deploying a SIEM will be a months-long, six-figure project. Blumira proves this wrong. Because our platform is cloud-based, you can be up and running in a fraction of the time. Our pre-built detections and automated log ingestion for hundreds of integrations mean you can start seeing value and security data in a matter of hours, not months. This allows smaller organizations and the MSPs who serve them to meet compliance deadlines quickly and effectively.

3. Automated Detections and Playbooks that Eliminate Noise

The biggest challenge with most security tools is the overwhelming number of false positives. IT teams are already stretched thin. They can't spend all day chasing down alerts that turn out to be nothing.

Blumira’s approach is different. We focus on high-fidelity, actionable alerts. We correlate data from multiple sources to identify actual threats, not just isolated events. When we detect a threat, we don't just send you a cryptic log entry. We provide you with a step-by-step playbook on how to remediate the issue. This means your IT team doesn't need to be CMMC or cybersecurity experts.

4. Cost-Effective, Scalable, and Predictable

Enterprise-grade security has historically come with an enterprise-level price tag. Blumira is built to make it accessible to the SMBs and mid-market companies that make up the backbone of the DoD supply chain. Our pricing is transparent and based on your number of users, not the amount of data you send. This predictable model means you won't be penalized for adding new log sources or as your data grows.

5. The Foundation for Proactive, Continuous Compliance

CMMC isn't a "one-and-done" audit. It's a continuous process. Blumira provides the long-term logging (one year of retention) and automated reporting required to prove compliance during your assessment. More importantly, it provides the 24/7 monitoring and real-time detection that keep you secure between audits. With Blumira, you're actively defending your organization against cyber threats.

Simplify CMMC Compliance with Blumira

The new CMMC requirements are a significant challenge, but they are also a necessary step in securing our nation's critical infrastructure. For defense contractors and the MSPs that support them, the path to compliance can seem daunting. Blumira simplifies this journey. By combining an advanced SIEM platform with automated threat detection and guided response playbooks, we give you the tools and the confidence to meet CMMC requirements without needing to hire an army of security analysts.

Don't let compliance be a barrier to your business. Embrace it as an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient security posture. Learn how Blumira can help your organization meet CMMC requirements and stay ahead of evolving federal cybersecurity standards.

Stay CMMC compliant with Blumira.