Plain-language guidance on the cybersecurity requirements that attach to federal contracts — FAR 52.204-21, DFARS 252.204-7012, CMMC, CUI, NIST SP 800-171, FedRAMP, incident reporting, and the clauses that turn cybersecurity into procurement risk.
Before any FAR or DFARS clause applies, federal and state law already requires your business to secure data and report breaches — the FTC Act, all-50-state breach laws, and rules like GLBA and HIPAA. The contractor requirements build on top of that legal baseline. Make sure you meet it first.
If a contractor asks which single document matters most for DFARS and CMMC compliance, the answer is almost always the System Security Plan. It's the control auditors check first, the basis of your SPRS score, and — increasingly — the document the government points to when a compliance representation turns out to be false.
Read more →When the Department of War suspended CMMC Phase 2, the more consequential document was the one it posted the same day: a Request for Information asking the Defense Industrial Base what should replace it. Responses close August 14, 2026 — the window for contractors to put their real cost-and-burden data on the record.
Read more →A Plan of Action and Milestones sounds like a compliance escape hatch: fail a few controls, promise to fix them, get certified anyway. The actual rule is much narrower — and with CMMC Phase 2 paused and self-attestation carrying more weight than ever, knowing exactly what a POA&M can and can't cover matters more than it did a month ago.
Read more →The Department of War suspended CMMC Phase 2 certification requirements on July 13, 2026, launching a 60-day reform review while Phase 1 self-assessments and DFARS 252.204-7012 remain in force.
Read more →GovConCyber is a free legal reference — not a law firm. We cover the federal cybersecurity rules that apply to government contractors: what they require, who they apply to, and what you need to do. Start here if you're new to the site.
Answer a few questions about your contract type and data to get a plain-language summary of your obligations.
Get started →Start with the fundamentals: what the key frameworks are, why they exist, and how they affect your contracts.
Read the basics →Plain-language definitions for CUI, CMMC, DFARS, FedRAMP, and many other key terms.
Browse the glossary →Original, source-anchored analysis on the harder questions — where requirements, contracts, data-handling, and enforcement intersect.
The obligations that reach contractors outside the CMMC conversation — the FAR baseline, civilian-agency clauses, cloud, incident reporting, and enforcement.
How to identify, mark, handle, and flow down the categories of information federal contracts protect — CUI and beyond.
FAR, DFARS, frameworks, and agency-specific rules
State-level cyber laws affecting government contractors
Sector-specific obligations: defense, healthcare, finance, and more
Requirement triage, roadmaps, educational self-checks, and reference aids for planning compliance work.
Original analysis — beyond CMMC, protected information, maps and trackers
Actions, penalties, and False Claims Act case law
Cybersecurity 101 and a plain-language glossary
GovConCyber is a free reference first. When you need that analysis applied — explained to a room, or mapped to your actual contracts — these are the ways to go further.
Plain-language sessions on CMMC, CUI, and the requirements beyond CMMC — for conferences, bar associations, APEX Accelerator programs, and internal briefings.
Explore speaking topics →The Compliance Roadmap Assessment™ — a structured readiness review that maps which requirements apply to your contracts and what to prioritize. Not a CMMC assessment or legal advice.
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