Service Organization Control (SOC) compliance is a voluntary compliance framework created by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to help financial institutions better manage security, risk and data management. Over time, several different audits and reports based on SOC have emerged, the most popular of which is SOC 2.

The SOC 2 audit process is a comprehensive assessment that demonstrates an organization’s commitment to security and data privacy. Many organizations pick up SOC 2 certification specifically to raise the security profile of their brands and encourage trust from users and clients.

While that seems straightforward, the fact is that SOC 2 can be a long, rigorous and challenging audit that takes months to years to complete. Additionally, once you’ve achieved SOC 2 certification, you must continually demonstrate your continued compliance annually.

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The cybersecurity landscape for Department of Defense contractors is evolving rapidly. As the CMMC program rolls out, organizations are wrestling with a tough question: how do we meet these demanding requirements while actually building security that works?

Here’s where Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) comes into play. It’s a complete shift from the old “castle and moat” security model to something much smarter—treating every access request as if it could be trouble, regardless of its origin. CMMC doesn’t require zero trust, but here’s the thing: the two fit together like puzzle pieces.

Consider what CMMC is truly trying to accomplish: the DoD aims to protect CUI with security controls that are robust enough to deter real adversaries, not merely check compliance boxes. ZTAs, especially those built on NIST Special Publication 800-207, give you exactly that kind of protection while setting you up for long-term success.

So the real question isn’t whether CMMC requires ZTA (it doesn’t). This article asks the question: Can you afford to ignore an approach that makes compliance easier while actually improving your security posture? Spoiler alert: you probably can’t.

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Federal contractors and cloud service providers face an increasingly complex web of compliance requirements. Two frameworks dominate this landscape: CMMC and FedRAMP. This challenge hits hardest for organizations serving multiple federal sectors or providing both traditional contracting services and cloud solutions. These companies must navigate overlapping requirements, duplicate their documentation efforts, and maintain separate compliance programs to ensure adherence to regulations.

The answer isn’t choosing between frameworks, but developing innovative strategies that leverage their commonalities while respecting what makes each one unique. CMMC automapping shifts the focus from merely managing compliance to orchestrating it intelligently.

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