Another 279 companies achieved CMMC Level 2 certification in June 2026, bringing the total to 1,717 certified organizations.

That's a record month and far ahead of DoD's original projections. But the data also shows something surprising: the industry still isn't using all of its available assessment capacity.

In this episode, we break down the latest Cyber AB numbers, explain our assessment capacity methodology, and discuss why contractor readiness, not assessor availability, remains the biggest constraint on CMMC adoption.

Topics covered:

• June 2026 CMMC Level 2 certification numbers

• Available CMMC assessment capacity

• Why the assessor shortage narrative doesn't match the data

• The connection between CMMC readiness and DFARS 252.204-7012 compliance

• What these trends could mean for the rest of the phased rollout

Have questions? Contact us: https://summit7.us/

Register for Secure The DIB: https://summit7.us/event/secure-the-dib-telethon

Monthly Cyber AB Town Hall: https://cyberab.org/News-Events/Town-Halls/pager/7916/page/2

The DOJ has announced its first cybersecurity False Claims Act settlement of 2026, and the details should get every defense contractor's attention.

In this episode, we break down the LOGZONE settlement, the difference between DFARS 252.204-7012 and CMMC, how a perfect SPRS score became a DIBCAC assessment score of -170, and why this case may be a preview of additional enforcement actions still working their way through the system.

Topics covered:

• LOGZONE FCA settlement details

• DFARS 252.204-7012, 7019, and 7020

• SPRS self-assessment scores

• DIBCAC medium assessments

• Why no whistleblower was required

• What this means for defense contractors moving forward

Settlement and source documents linked below.

Register for Secure The DIB: http://summit7.us/event/secure-the-dib-telethon

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

DOJ Settlement: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alabama-defense-contractor-agrees-pay-507144-resolve-false-claims-act-liability-relating

DoD IG + DOJ (2023): https://youtu.be/_3GLX6ele_E?t=448

FCA pod w/ Alexander Canizares: https://youtu.be/Tga0krfIrEk?si=i6E2FuLY7QLNGmos

FCA pod w/ Stephanie Siegmann: https://youtu.be/d1yweDy2wV4?si=drOwbWxBm9GAlh38

FCA w/ Bruce Judge: https://youtu.be/tqT_5yQBlOk?si=xgmqev-87KTKpxUJ

Register for Secure The DIB: https://www.summit7.us/secure-the-dib-telethon

Over the last two months, we ran the CMMC Challenge Bracket.

Eight matchups, 907 participants, 2,005 votes.

The winner? Leadership Buy-In.

But the final standings were only part of the story.

In this episode, we break down the voting trends, coalition shifts, and comment analysis to understand what the community actually believes is holding organizations back from CMMC success.

Back in January, we made seven predictions about where the CMMC ecosystem would be by the end of 2026.

Now that we're halfway through the year, we're checking the scoreboard.

In this episode:

• Level 2 certification growth

• False Claims Act enforcement trends

• Funding and compliance assistance programs

• The FAR CUI rule

• CMMC 3.0 and NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3

• Early Level 3 activity

• What the GAO report actually found

Some predictions are looking strong. Others are too close to call. And at least one is trending in the wrong direction.

Here's our mid-year reality check on CMMC in 2026.

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

2026 Predictions (January): https://youtu.be/WxgGtKpF3_s?si=I9MfjmkBDojCRThv

GAO Report podcast: https://youtu.be/U0VhiN3qpdE?si=lD-Pbl3vyfbIMPw7

NCODE for SMBs: https://www.summit7.us/blog/ncode-contract-award

Assessment Capacity podcast: https://youtu.be/e_1FztgNCHM?si=PdpkkVk3SSa1V4-2

CIRCIA update: https://youtu.be/bvwnNSpDZgU?si=bS0ARRUfvvzLemmK

Remember CIRCIA?

The proposed rule would create mandatory cyber incident reporting requirements for more than 300,000 organizations across 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including the Defense Industrial Base.

Now CISA is holding a new round of town halls to gather feedback before issuing a final rule.

In this episode, we explain why CIRCIA isn't just another version of DFARS 252.204-7012, the seven biggest differences defense contractors need to understand, and why the upcoming town halls may be the DIB's best opportunity to influence the final rule.

Registration links for the CIRCIA Town Halls are included below.

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

CIRCIA Town Halls: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/cyber-threats-and-advisories/information-sharing/cyber-incident-reporting-critical-infrastructure-act-2022-circia

CIRCIA Proposed Rule Pod (2024): https://youtu.be/ngYSaO5fg5Y?si=VoVW54QvAzKe6r-r

Proposed Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/04/2024-06526/cyber-incident-reporting-for-critical-infrastructure-act-circia-reporting-requirements

Congressional Research Service Report (PDF): https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48025

CIRCIA Hearing: https://homeland.house.gov/hearing/surveying-circia-sector-perspectives-on-the-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking/

The Cyber AB brought the ecosystem together to deliver pretty exciting news during the May monthly town hall. Join us for this week's episode as we break down some of the topics a little deeper to see what it actually means for the ecosystem.

Things like:

• Has production accelerated within the ecosystem?

• Who is the new EVP of the Cyber AB?

• Who actually attends these meetings?

And so much more...Tune in to find out!

Cyber AB TH Replay's: https://cyberab.org/News-Events/Town-Hall

ISACA Website: https://www.isaca.org/

T3 Inquiries (older than 6 months): https://dowcio.war.gov/CMMC/Contact/

NIST SP 800-145: https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/145/final

DoD has updated the CMMC FAQs again, and the revision history doesn't tell the full story. In this episode, we break down the most important FAQ 2.3 changes, including significant changes, annual affirmations, CMMC UIDs, joint ventures, hard-copy CUI, and why the Affirming Official is one of the most important CMMC roles inside your company.

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

100 Level 2-Certified Clients: https://www.summit7.us/blog/100-cmmc-l2-certified-clients

NCODE: https://www.summit7.us/blog/ncode-contract-award

CMMC FAQs: https://dodcio.defense.gov/CMMC/

January FAQ Pod: https://youtu.be/8ZxqqH0zws8?si=m5n8WQttWsZV8n24

Paper CUI Pod: https://youtu.be/lcIaxVBjyr0?si=17LdlP92NuCGa_ph

It's milestone season in the CMMC world. Just six months into the Phased Rollout and there are 2.5x more Level 2 certifications than DoD expected. Meanwhile, a significant portion of those certs are Summit 7 clients. We now work with more than 100 Level 2 certified companies. Last but not least, Summit 7 was awarded the Army's NCODE contract to help bring secure and compliant enclaves to micro-sized defense contractors. Exciting times.

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

100 Level 2-Certified Clients: https://www.summit7.us/blog/100-cmmc-l2-certified-clients

NCODE: https://www.summit7.us/blog/ncode-contract-award

Everyone keeps saying there aren't enough CMMC assessors. The data tells a very different story.

In this episode we break down actual assessment capacity using the current number of certified assessors, DoD's rollout estimates, and capacity growth rates across the ecosystem.

How quickly is the ecosystem scaling toward future demand targets of 16,000 and even 25,000 assessments per year?

Turns out the real bottleneck isn't assessor capacity at all.

...

Register for Summit 7 Live: https://www.summit7.us/s7live

GAO Report (2026): https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107955

GAO Report (2021): https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104679

We are back at it again with another rundown of the Cyber AB's monthly town hall and there sure was a lot of valuable information distributed during the meeting. Join us for this episode of we discuss some of the key information dished out this month and weigh on any impact it may have on the CMMC Program.

Things like:

• Changes in ecosystem engagement?

• Do we have enough steps are in the T3 process?

• Has certification output increased? And so much more...Tune in to find out!

Cyber AB TH Replay's: https://cyberab.org/News-Events/Town-Hall

ISACA Website: https://www.isaca.org/

T3 Inquiries (older than 6 months): https://dowcio.war.gov/CMMC/Contact/