Description

A focused course, tailored for you

C2C Cybersecurity Governance for Defense Contractors

A practical course for cybersecurity leads who must verify, govern, and document the security posture of cleared subcontractors under DoD flow-down requirements.

The subcontractor passed their self-attestation. The prime's flow-down clause says you own verification. The DIBCAC walk is 90 days out. What's in your package right now that proves the C2C boundary is clean?

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

Cleared-to-Cleared (C2C) cybersecurity sits in a structural gap. The prime contract flows down CMMC and DFARS requirements. The subcontractor attests. But the cybersecurity lead in the middle has no standardised process for verifying that attestation, no tooling purpose-built for multi-cleared-entity environments, and no documented inheritance map that survives a DIBCAC joint surveillance review. The evidence package that works for your own system authorisation does not automatically extend to the C2C boundary. Every C2C engagement needs its own RMF inheritance analysis, its own CUI flow documentation, its own documented verification of subcontractor controls. Most teams build this from scratch each time, under pressure, after the contract is already running.

What you walk away with

Build a repeatable C2C subcontractor security review process aligned to CMMC Level 2 and DFARS 252.204-7012 flow-down requirements.
Produce an RMF inheritance map that correctly attributes controls across prime and subcontractor system boundaries.
Document CUI flow at the C2C boundary in a format that satisfies both the prime's ISSO and the subcontractor's AO.
Structure a DIBCAC-ready evidence package for joint surveillance reviews covering C2C engagements.
Stand up a continuous monitoring touchpoint with cleared subcontractors that does not require full access to their system documentation.
Reduce cycle time from new C2C engagement to documented security posture from weeks to days.

The 12 modules

Module 1. The C2C Security Accountability Stack

Maps the full accountability chain from DoD program office to prime to cleared subcontractor, tracing where CMMC and DFARS requirements attach and how verification obligations flow down. Produces a one-page responsibility matrix showing exactly which controls the C2C lead owns versus which belong to the sub's AO. This module establishes the legal and contractual baseline before any technical assessment work begins.

Module 2. CMMC Flow-Down Mechanics for C2C Agreements

Works through how CMMC Level requirements apply across multi-cleared-entity contracts, including when a subcontractor's existing C3PAO assessment satisfies the prime's flow-down obligation and when it does not. Covers the specific contract language that creates verification liability, and how to read a subcontractor's Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) for risk that becomes your exposure. Produces a flow-down clause checklist for new C2C agreements.

Module 3. Subcontractor Security Review: What to Actually Ask For

Defines the minimum artifact set for a defensible C2C security review: which portions of the sub's SSP are appropriate to request, what a redacted evidence package looks like, and how to document the review without requiring sub to share their full authorisation package. Covers common sub refusals and how to get equivalent assurance through alternative documentation paths accepted by DCSA.

Module 4. RMF Inheritance Mapping Across C2C Boundaries

Teaches how to build a system boundary diagram that correctly represents a C2C environment, identifying which controls are inherited from the sub's authorised system, which are shared, and which remain the prime's responsibility. Produces the inheritance table format that DISA and the authorising official expect to see in the Security Assessment Report for programs that include C2C data flows.

Module 5. CUI Documentation at the C2C Interface

Focuses specifically on Controlled Unclassified Information flow at the boundary: data flow diagrams that show CUI ingress and egress between cleared entities, the marking and handling obligations that attach at handoff, and what the ISSO needs documented before granting an interconnection authorisation. Covers the CUI Registry categories most common in defense prime-sub relationships and the specific controls that must be verified at the interface.

Module 6. DFARS 252.204-7012 and Incident Reporting Across C2C

Works through the 72-hour incident reporting obligation as it applies when the incident originates in a subcontractor's environment but affects the prime's covered defense information. Covers the notification chain, what to document before you call DCSA, and how to structure the sub's incident response evidence so it can be incorporated into the prime's mandatory report without gaps. Produces a C2C incident response coordination checklist.

Module 7. Building the DIBCAC-Ready Evidence Package

Reverse-engineers the DIBCAC Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment (JSVA) process to identify exactly what assessors look for in C2C-inclusive programs. Covers the document structure, the control evidence format, and the common findings that generate Corrective Action Plan requirements in joint reviews. Produces a pre-assessment evidence checklist and a narrative template for explaining C2C boundary decisions to the assessment team.

Module 8. Continuous Monitoring for Cleared Subcontractors

Addresses the practical constraint that C2C leads cannot run their own scans against a sub's environment. Builds a continuous monitoring touchpoint structure using sub-reported artifacts, periodic evidence updates, and scheduled boundary attestation reviews that give the prime defensible ongoing assurance without requiring system access. Covers how to document this process in the prime's continuous monitoring strategy for AO review.

Module 9. Handling Subcontractor POA&M Risk

Focuses on what to do when a subcontractor's POA&M contains open items that are relevant to the C2C boundary. Covers risk acceptance documentation, the format for prime-side risk acceptance decisions, how to communicate outstanding sub POA&M items to the program's AO, and the contract language that gives the prime leverage to require remediation timelines. Produces a risk acceptance memo template for C2C open findings.

Module 10. Onboarding New C2C Subcontractors: The 30-Day Checklist

Builds a repeatable onboarding sequence for new cleared subcontractors that gets security documentation in order before the first CUI handoff. Covers initial boundary scoping, first evidence request, inheritance map draft, interconnection agreement routing, and the sign-off sequence that closes out the onboarding. Designed to be delegated to a junior cybersecurity analyst once the lead has established the pattern.

Module 11. Supply Chain Risk Management in C2C Environments

Connects the C2C security governance process to the broader SCRM requirements under NIST SP 800-161 and DFARS 252.239-7017. Covers hardware and software provenance obligations for components that flow between cleared entities, how to document C2C supply chain risk in the prime's SCRM plan, and what the DoD IG's supply chain audit team looks for when reviewing multi-contractor programs. Produces a C2C-specific SCRM addendum template.

Module 12. From Reactive to Defensible: The C2C Governance Playbook

Assembles all prior modules into a standing governance document: a C2C Security Governance Playbook that the lead can hand to a successor, present to the prime's CISO, and reference in contract negotiations. Covers how to version and maintain the playbook as subcontractors change, as CMMC requirements evolve, and as program scope expands. Ends with a self-assessment checklist against the twelve governance capabilities built across the course.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

New C2C subcontractor onboarding with no standardised process: Modules 1, 2, 10.

DIBCAC joint surveillance review scheduled in the next 90 days: Modules 7, 8, 4.

Subcontractor POA&M has open items touching the shared boundary: Modules 9, 3, 5.

Program expanding to include additional cleared subs, prime CISO asking for a governance brief: Modules 11, 12, 6.

What you get with this course

12 written modules in the Art of Service learning environment, covering the full C2C governance stack from contract flow-down to DIBCAC-ready evidence.
Downloadable templates for every module: responsibility matrix, RMF inheritance table, CUI flow diagram, incident coordination checklist, POA&M risk acceptance memo, 30-day onboarding checklist, SCRM addendum, and the full C2C Security Governance Playbook.
Hand-built implementation playbook tailored to your specific engagement context and delivered alongside course access.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.

Before and after

Before

Each new C2C engagement generates a bespoke, ad-hoc documentation effort. The DIBCAC evidence package is assembled under pressure. The subcontractor's security posture is attested but not verified in any defensible format. The prime's AO has questions that take weeks to answer.

After

C2C subcontractor onboarding follows a 30-day documented process. The inheritance map is current for every active engagement. The DIBCAC package is a standing document, updated quarterly. The prime's AO sees a governance structure, not a collection of one-off reviews.

What happens if you do not address this

The gap between subcontractor attestation and prime verification is where audit findings, POA&M items, and program delays originate. As CMMC enforcement moves from self-attestation toward third-party assessment for higher-value contracts, C2C leads without a documented verification process will face findings that belong to the prime even when the root cause is in the sub's environment.

Who it is for

You are a cybersecurity lead at a large defense prime or systems integrator, responsible for the security posture of engagements that involve cleared subcontractors. You have authority over your own system but not over your subs' environments. You live in RMF, CMMC, and DFARS. You know what the requirements say. You need a repeatable process for verifying, documenting, and governing the C2C boundary that will hold up to a DIBCAC assessment.

Who this is NOT for. Commercial cybersecurity teams without DoD contracting relationships, or practitioners who do not manage cleared subcontractor relationships as a primary accountability.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. 12 modules at approximately 45-60 minutes each. Most practitioners complete the course over two to three weeks while applying each module's outputs to a current C2C engagement.

Why $199 is the right number

DCSA and CMMC AB training covers the requirements but not the governance process for managing them across cleared subcontractors. Internal legal and contracts teams address the contractual side but not the evidence and documentation layer. This course fills the gap between knowing the regulation and having a defensible, repeatable process for a C2C cybersecurity lead.

FAQ

Does this cover CMMC Level 2 only, or Level 3 as well?

The governance framework applies to both. Level 2 requirements and DIBCAC assessment preparation are the primary focus because that is the current enforcement frontier for most prime-sub relationships. Level 3 DCSA-led assessments are addressed in Module 7 with notes on how the evidence package differs.

Is this relevant if my subcontractors already have a C3PAO assessment?

Yes. A subcontractor's third-party assessment satisfies their own CMMC obligation but does not automatically satisfy the prime's boundary documentation and inheritance mapping requirements. Modules 3 and 4 cover exactly this situation.

The implementation playbook — how tailored is it?

It is built for your specific engagement context after purchase, drawing on the role, program type, and C2C structure you describe. It is not a generic checklist.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.