Ci-Dell’s NIST 800-171 Compliance for DoD Suppliers Extends Cybersecurity for All Customers

The prevalence of IIoT and digitizing the factory floor has provided many efficiencies and cost-saving benefits to manufacturers, but it has also created a potential vulnerability to cyber-attacks. When choosing a thermoset molding partner, it’s important to ensure they are following the highest standards of cybersecurity. After all, bad actors are going to look for the weakest security link in the supply chain when targeting governments or corporations. Make sure all your suppliers are cyber secure to protect your company and your own customers.

Protecting military data

Understanding the urgency to establish cybersecurity for its customers, Ci-Dell has earned compliance in one of the top regulations today: Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems (nist.gov) NIST 800-171. This compliance ensures cybersecurity for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its suppliers, so the DoD and its tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers will have cybersecurity peace of mind when working with Ci-Dell Plastics. 

Cybersecurity requirements within NIST 800-171 are designed to safeguard controlled unclassified information (CUI) in the IT networks of government contractors and subcontractors. It defines the practices and procedures that government contactors must adhere to when their networks process or store CUI.

Cybersecurity for all customers

Non-defense customers benefit from Ci-Dell’s NIST 800-171 compliance as well. We’ve all seen news coverage of companies falling victim to data theft, ransoming, and operation shutdowns or disruptions. Such attacks can bring manufacturers to a complete halt and compromise sensitive information, which may have expensive and long-term effects on the company’s ability to survive. 

“Ci-Dell began a cybersecurity compliance journey a few years ago when a military client asked us to complete a NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment. That gave us the guidance we needed to find and fix our shortcomings,” said Ken Cihlar, Ci-Dell’s Director of Operations. “Since then, we’ve implemented several cybersecurity enhancements that allow us to safeguard client data.”

Next steps in cybersecurity

To continue advancing cybersecurity coverage, Ci-Dell is working toward the DoD’s Cyberspace Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0, which helps safeguard information that enables the defense of the United States. The DoD is still finalizing all the rules for the CMMC program, but more forward-looking companies are already establishing more advanced cybersecurity protocols to ensure compliance when CMMC 2.0 is finalized.

“Implementing a cybersecurity plan provides our customers with the confidence that our systems networks, devices and data are protected from cyberattacks,” says Nolan Cihlar, IT Specialist at Ci-Dell.” They can rest assured that everyday operations can continue as normal and their products will be delivered on time without interruption to their schedule.”

Learn more about the CMMC 2.0 requirements that Ci-Dell Plastics is working on to protect customer data from cyberattacks.