The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is essentially a certification process by the Department of Defense for all defense contractors; this includes large or small businesses, primes, or subcontractors.  The goal is to secure the defense industrial base against cyberattacks and the theft of US intellectual property.

There are five levels in the CMMC model, Level 1 is the most common and has 17 practice requirements; Level 5 will be the most restricted with 171 practice requirements.