Knowledge Base

Insights and Articles

Practitioner perspectives on cybersecurity, AI governance, federal technology procurement, and enterprise software delivery. Grounded in real frameworks and current policy.

9 articles across 4 practice areas

All 9 articles

9 min read

Cybersecurity

CMMC 2.0 Is Now Law: What the Final DFARS Rule Means for Defense Contractors

The DoD's final DFARS acquisition rule implementing CMMC became effective November 10, 2025, fundamentally changing how cybersecurity requirements apply to defense contracts and subcontracts. This article explains what the rule requires, who is affected, and what contractors must do now.

CMMC 2.0

DFARS

Defense Contracting

November 2025Read Article

10 min read

Cybersecurity

Zero Trust in 2025: Where Federal Agencies Stand and What It Means for Contractors

CISA released a comprehensive implementation report in January 2025 documenting federal civilian agency progress on Zero Trust architecture from FY 2022 through 2024. This article reviews where agencies stand, what the maturity model requires, and what this means for contractors and technology vendors supporting federal environments.

Zero Trust

CISA ZTMM

OMB M-22-09

February 2025Read Article

8 min read

Cybersecurity

NIST 800-171 Revision 3: What DoD Contractors Need to Know Before the Transition

NIST published SP 800-171 Revision 3 in May 2024, reorganizing and strengthening requirements for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in nonfederal systems. Revision 2 remains mandatory for DoD contractors under a class deviation, but Revision 3 will eventually become the baseline. This article explains what changed and how to prepare.

NIST 800-171

CUI

CMMC

June 2025Read Article

9 min read

AI Governance

From M-24-10 to M-25-21: How Federal AI Policy Shifted in 2025

On April 3, 2025, the White House OMB issued M-25-21 and M-25-22, replacing Biden-era AI governance memoranda. The new directives shift emphasis toward accelerating AI adoption and reducing regulatory friction while maintaining accountability structures. This article explains what changed and what it means for agencies and contractors.

The EU AI Act Is in Effect: What U.S. Organizations Need to Know

The European Union's AI Act entered its enforcement phase in 2025, beginning with a ban on prohibited AI practices effective February 2, 2025, and followed by General-Purpose AI obligations in August 2025. U.S. companies operating in the EU or whose AI systems are used by EU residents face real compliance obligations. This article explains the timeline, the risk tiers, and what action is required.

EU AI Act

AI Compliance

AI Governance

March 2025Read Article

9 min read

AI Governance

NIST AI-600-1 and Generative AI: A Practitioner's Governance Guide

In July 2024, NIST published AI-600-1, a companion profile to the AI Risk Management Framework specifically addressing generative AI risks. The profile identifies 12 categories of generative AI risk and provides structured guidance for organizations governing AI systems based on large language models and other generative architectures. This article explains the profile and how to apply it.

NIST AI-600-1

Generative AI

AI Governance

September 2024Read Article

10 min read

Enterprise Software

Continuous ATO: How Ongoing Authorization Is Replacing the Traditional Point-in-Time ATO

Federal agencies and defense contractors have long grappled with the Authorization to Operate process, a point-in-time security authorization that takes months to complete and quickly becomes outdated. Continuous Authorization to Operate (cATO) addresses this by integrating ongoing monitoring, automated controls validation, and DevSecOps pipelines into a real-time authorization model. This article explains cATO, its requirements, and what it means for software teams.

DevSecOps in Federal Environments: Integrating Security Without Slowing Delivery

Federal agencies and defense contractors face the dual challenge of accelerating software delivery while maintaining strict security requirements. DevSecOps addresses this by embedding security practices throughout the development lifecycle. This article covers the core DevSecOps practices, how they apply in federal contexts, and the key compliance considerations that federal software teams must navigate.

DevSecOps

CI/CD

Federal Software Delivery

March 2025Read Article

8 min read

Technology Procurement

Selling AI to the Federal Government: What Vendors Need to Know About M-25-22

OMB Memorandum M-25-22, issued April 3, 2025, establishes new requirements for how federal agencies acquire AI systems and what documentation vendors must provide. For contracts from solicitations issued on or after October 1, 2025, these requirements are in effect. This article explains what vendors need to prepare and how federal AI procurement has changed.

M-25-22

AI Procurement

Federal Acquisition

June 2025Read Article

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