Defense Cybersecurity Assistance Program

MARYLAND DEFENSE
CYBERSECURITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

About the Program

Being protected and secure is becoming increasingly important among manufacturing businesses, particularly defense contractors who are held to cyber standards when dealing with federal government contract work. The Maryland MEP team works with defense contractors across the State to ensure contract compliance and assist with mitigating cybersecurity risks. 

The Maryland Defense Cybersecurity Assistance Program (DCAP) was established in 2018 through support from the Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) and Maryland Department of Commerce to provide education and resources to Defense Contractors to comply with the DFARS and NIST 800-171 Standards. Since 2018, the Department of Defense has introduced the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification as a future way to incorporate standards into acquisition programs, providing assurance that contractors are meeting DoD’s cybersecurity requirements. DCAP assists the defense community with: 

  • DFARS Compliance & NIST SP 800-171
  • Preparation for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0
  • Gap Analysis, SPRS score, Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM)
  • System Security and Incident Response Plans endor / Solution Vetting
    • Employee Education / Training
    • Vendor / Solution Vetting
    • Supply Chain Risk Management 
    • Risk Visibility and Mitigation 

Maryland MEP has funding available to qualifying Maryland manufacturers to assist with the cost of NIST 800-171 / CMMC Preparation and Employee Training.

Please reach out to Sara Keith, skeith@mdmep.org for more information. 

Program Champions

Program Information

Program Coordinator

Program Partners