The Manufacturing Compliance Challenge
For defense contractors in manufacturing, CMMC compliance presents a unique challenge: the shop floor is full of equipment that can't be secured with traditional IT tools.
CNC machines running Windows XP. PLCs with no authentication. SCADA systems communicating over unencrypted protocols. These systems are essential to production but invisible to most security tools — and they represent a significant gap in CMMC compliance.
Why Traditional Approaches Fail
Most cybersecurity solutions assume you can install agents on endpoints, push updates, and enforce policies through software. That works for laptops and servers. It doesn't work for:
- Industrial controllers that run proprietary operating systems
- CNC machines that would void their warranty if modified
- Legacy systems running end-of-life operating systems with no patch support
- Air-gapped networks with no internet connectivity
Telling a manufacturer to "just migrate to the cloud" ignores the reality of their environment. Production can't stop. Equipment can't be replaced overnight. And the CUI flowing through these systems still needs to be protected.
A Network-Level Approach
The answer isn't to secure each endpoint individually — it's to secure the network itself. By deploying security controls at the network boundary, you can:
Segment CUI Environments
Create logical boundaries between IT networks (where CUI is processed) and OT networks (where production happens). Micro-segmentation ensures that a compromise in one zone doesn't spread to another.
Control Access Without Agents
Network-level access controls authenticate and authorize every connection without requiring software on the endpoint. Users and devices are verified before they can reach sensitive resources.
Monitor Industrial Traffic
Protocol-aware monitoring understands industrial communication patterns and can detect anomalies that generic security tools would miss. When a PLC starts communicating with an unexpected IP address, you'll know.
Enable Secure Remote Access
Maintenance and troubleshooting often require remote access to OT systems. Network-level security provides encrypted, authenticated remote access without exposing the entire production network.
Mapping to NIST 800-171 Controls
This approach directly addresses multiple NIST 800-171 control families:
- 3.1 Access Control — Network-level authentication and authorization
- 3.3 Audit and Accountability — Logging of all access events
- 3.4 Configuration Management — Asset inventory and baseline monitoring
- 3.13 System and Communications Protection — Encryption and segmentation
- 3.14 System and Information Integrity — Anomaly detection and monitoring
Getting Started
The first step is understanding what's on your network. Many manufacturers are surprised by what an asset discovery scan reveals — devices they didn't know existed, communicating in ways they didn't expect.
From there, you can build a segmentation strategy that protects CUI while keeping production running. The goal isn't to lock down the shop floor — it's to create controlled boundaries that satisfy CMMC requirements without disrupting the work that keeps your business running.