For defense contractors, CMMC risk management is no longer a paperwork exercise; it is a test of whether CUI protection, DFARS obligations, NIST SP 800-171 controls, and audit evidence all describe the same operational reality. In 2026, the organizations most likely to pass cybersecurity audits are not the ones with the longest policy library. They are the ones that can prove where Controlled Unclassified Information enters, moves, rests, exits, and inherits protection across people, systems, cloud providers, subcontractors, and contracts.