When you’re looking into government cybersecurity certifications, like FedRAMP and CMMC, you’re going to see two acronyms everywhere you turn. These two acronyms are almost identical: 3PAO and C3PAO. With just one letter dividing them, what’s the difference?

Cybersecurity is a complex business, and there are numerous standards and frameworks meant to help businesses achieve some level of security and protection in a hostile world. Among those programs is CMMC, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. With a new final rule in the finishing stages, it’s critical to know the details if it’s important to your business. CMMC is an initiative and a framework developed and maintained by the United States Department of Defense.

In the process of securing a business and achieving a full certification with ISO 27001, there are many different tasks that need to be accomplished, and many different people who need to be working towards achieving those tasks. In fact, a key part of a successful certification and a passing audit is accountability. Different people will need to take on different roles and responsibilities, some of which are for the purposes of the audit, and others for ongoing security.

The full process for achieving ISO 27001 compliance is lengthy, expensive, and difficult. While you can take many steps to make it easier, faster, or cheaper, there’s only so much you can sidestep the ground-level legwork that needs to be done to succeed. Fortunately, we can help you smooth out the process. A few weeks ago, we published a checklist for the full process to achieve ISO 27001 certification.