Bob Metzger Featured in Washington Technology Video About Imminent CMMC Rulemaking

Shareholder Robert Metzger, who heads RJO’s D.C. office, has been featured in a recent video from Washington Technology exploring what defense contractors can expect from the soon-to-be-released Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) regulations, which has now been approved for publication by the OMB OIRA unit and should be made public very soon. It is expected that the regulations will be published on a “proposed rule” basis and that contractors and other interested parties will have 60 days to submit comments after publication. The video, “WT and Cyber AB | Early Compliance Lessons” is part of an ongoing multi-part series hosted by Washington Technology’s editor-in-chief Nick Wakeman. 

For this episode, Metzger joined Wakeman and Cyber AB CEO Matt Travis. They discussed key issues of policy and practice, likely to arise from the proposed rule, and offered guidance on strategies for contractors to prepare and submit effective comments.  

As a co-author of the MITRE “Deliver Uncompromised” Report, Metzger is widely identified as a cyber thought leader whose work has contributed materially to the CMMC initiative. Travis, as head of the AB, is responsible for the organization which trains and accredits many practitioners in the CMMC ecosystem, including certified assessors.   

Defense contractors, security solution providers, as well as cyber advisors and consultants, have been waiting for the publication of the CMMC 2.0 rule, which will include all-new features in Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Once finalized, the new rule will impose CMMC requirements upon more than 70,000 defense contractors of all sizes. A key feature will be the required third-party assessments that will supersede present self-attestation requirements. 

“I expect the rule is going to be lengthy and complicated,” Metzger told Wakeman in the video. “I expect it will have an elaborate discussion of why this is being done, what the benefits are, what the impacts are, what alternatives were considered and what costs are expected. It will be much for everyone in the defense industry to consider.”