On October 15, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) published
the final rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification
(CMMC) Program that not only finalizes the long-anticipated CMMC
Rule but also foreshadows what 2025 may hold for the Defense
Industrial Base (DIB) and beyond. Indeed, 2025 is gearing up to be
the year of cybersecurity.
The CMMC Timeline
Although the CMMC Rule's effective date is December 16,
2024, the timeline will not kick off until the currently proposed
acquisition rule (48 CFR part 204 CMMC Acquisitions rule) is
finalized. Nonetheless, the acquisitions rule is expected to be
finalized in mid-2025, and the DoD confirmed that "[t]he
DoD's objective timeline to begin implementing the CMMC
requirements has been, and remains, FY 2025."