Email Security Solutions for CMMC Compliance
If you’re a defense contractor, you need to demonstrate CMMC compliance if you wish to continue working with the Department of Defense (DoD).
Email security is a critical component in demonstrating CMMC compliance as it directly relates to the protection of federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI). Without email security, defense contractors are in violation of CMMC and the DoD is vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Therefore, investing in robust email security measures is an essential aspect for CMMC compliance.
CMMC Compliance Fundamentals
Understanding the fundamentals of CMMC Compliance is crucial for organizations involved in the defense industrial base (DIB). CMMC, or Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, is designed to protect sensitive information, mandating that defense contractors meet specific cybersecurity standards before working with the Department of Defense.
The requirements for CMMC compliance are multi-faceted, focusing on the implementation of comprehensive cybersecurity practices to safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). This certification is not a one-size-fits-all; it spans three levels, tailoring cybersecurity expectations to the complexity of the data handled and the risks involved. Organizations seeking CMMC compliance must meticulously assess their current cybersecurity posture against the CMMC framework, addressing any undefined areas or gaps in their security measures. By achieving CMMC compliance, contractors not only enhance their cybersecurity resilience but also solidify their eligibility to bid on defense contracts, positioning themselves as trusted partners in the defense supply chain.
Email Security Requirements
Email security refers to various techniques and measures used to protect email accounts, content, and communication against unauthorized access, loss, or compromise. This can include protecting sensitive information from hackers, viruses, spam, phishing attacks, and other cyber threats. Techniques used can range from secure passwords and two-factor authentication to encryption, digital signatures, and secure email gateways.
Email security solutions protect organizations’ sensitive content in several ways. Email security solution features include: encryption, spam filtering, malware protection, data loss prevention, identity and access management (IAM), regular system updates, phishing protection, and advanced threat protection. By using these methods, email security solutions can effectively protect an organization’s sensitive content from numerous threats.
Email Security Requirements for Regulatory Compliance
Secure email solutions help organizations demonstrate regulatory compliance with not just CMMC but more broadly with national, industry, and state data privacy laws like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, as well as data security standards like NIST CSF and ISO 27001 in several ways:
- Protection of Sensitive Information: Email security solutions employ advanced encryption algorithms to ensure that only authorized individuals can access the data. This aids in the compliance with privacy laws like GDPR, HIPAA that mandate the protection of sensitive data.
- Audit Logs: Detailed logs and reports provided by these solutions can verify that all required security measures are in place and work as expected. These audit trails can serve as proof of compliance during audits.
- Data Loss Prevention: These solutions can help in preventing data breaches by identifying and blocking sensitive information from being sent out accidentally or maliciously.
- Compliance Filters: Many email security solutions come with inbuilt compliance filters that automatically detect and manage emails containing information relevant to specific regulations such as PCI DSS, GDPR, and many others.
- Secure Access: Email security solutions provide secure access controls using multi-factor authentication (MFA), ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive data, complying with privacy standards.
- Retention Policies: These solutions help enforce email retention policies to ensure that emails are stored and destroyed in accordance with regulations.
- Automatic Updates: Email security solutions are regularly updated to tackle the latest threats and comply with new or updated regulations.
- Training & Awareness: Some solutions also offer phishing simulation and training tools that help educate users about secure email practices, a requirement under several regulations.
By investing in a robust email security solution, organizations can ensure they are doing their due diligence to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements.
Email Security Solution Requirements for CMMC Compliance
With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, organizations must ensure their email and file sharing solutions are CMMC-compliant. CMMC compliance requires that email and file sharing solutions meet certain criteria, mainly focusing on access control, audit and accountability, identification and authentication, incident response, maintenance, media protection, physical protection, risk management, security assessment, system and communications protection, and system and information integrity.
Access control is crucial as it ensures only authorized individuals can access sensitive information. Audit and accountability mechanisms need to be in place for tracking user activities and detecting potential violations or incidents. Identification and authentication requires a solution to have strong mechanisms that confirm the identity of users and devices. An efficient incident response strategy helps minimize the effect of a breach or a cyber attack.
Maintaining regular checks and updates is essential for keeping systems secure. Media protection policies are necessary to safeguard any physical media that holds sensitive information. Physical protection refers to measures taken to secure the physical location where information systems are housed. This includes server rooms, data centers, and any other places where critical infrastructure is located.
Risk management is the process of identifying potential risks and developing strategies to manage those risks. Security assessment involves evaluating the effectiveness of security controls and enhancing them as necessary. System and communication protection focuses on securing network communications and preventing unauthorized access. Lastly, system and information integrity ensures that information and systems are protected from unauthorized changes, corruption, or destruction.
In total, to be CMMC-compliant, an email and file sharing solution must adhere to these requirements. It is not just beneficial for the organization’s cybersecurity health, but it’s also a necessity to ensure business continuity, data protection, and to maintain trust with customers and clients. Non-compliance could lead to penalties, including loss of contracts and business opportunities.
CMMC Encryption Requirements
Secure email per CMMC requirements is defined as any email that is encrypted, digitally signed, or contains security capabilities that protect data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. In order to adhere to these requirements, all communication sent and received via email must be encrypted and the digital signature verified. Further, the encryption must be strong enough to protect the data from unauthorized access and use. The email system should also have access control and audit logging capabilities, meaning that all email communications are logged and tracked, and users have access to only the data they are authorized to view. The levels of encryption required for CMMC compliant email are as follows:
- TLS (Transport Layer Security): This is used for secure communication between two parties. It provides authentication and encryption of data in transit.
- IPsec (Internet Protocol Security): This is used for encrypting IP packets in transit. It provides authentication, integrity, confidentiality, and anti-replay protection.
- S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions): This is used for signing and encrypting messages, as well as ensuring authentication of origin.
- PGP (Pretty Good Privacy): This is used for encrypting email and files, as well as authenticating the sender.
- Secure Email Gateway: This is a device or software application that provides message filtering, encryption, and authentication to ensure secure email transmissions.
CMMC 2.0 Email Security Solutions: Where to Begin
There are several requirements DoD contractors must consider and address in order for their email systems to be CMMC 2.0 compliant. These are the five most important considerations.
- Data at Rest Encryption – encryption of emails and email attachments stored on the system
- Access Control and Authentication – a secure authentication system to verify user identity and grant access
- Auditing and Monitoring of Emails – logging and monitoring of emails, access, and other activities
- System Implementation and Configuration – following secure guidelines for system and network setup
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) – implementing a DLP program to identify, protect, and monitor sensitive data stored in emails and attachments
These considerations are the most important because they provide the foundation for a secure email system, ensuring the safety and security of data at all times. For example, data-at-rest encryption ensures that emails and attachments are protected even if they are stolen or accessed without authorization. Access control and authentication protect the system from unauthorized access, while auditing and monitoring of emails helps detect any suspicious activity. System implementation and configuration helps ensure the system is properly configured according to secure standards, while data loss prevention helps ensure that sensitive data is identified and protected from being stolen or leaked.
What To Look For in CMMC-compliant Email Systems
At first glance, organizations might think deploying a commodity encrypted email system will get them to CMMC level 3 compliance out of the box. But encryption is not enough: Businesses need secure servers, enterprise-grade tools, and a safe way to share information inside and outside your organization.
A CMMC-compliant email system should include these key features:
- Compliant technology: Compliance is not just an IT question. It covers technology, administration, and physical access to machines. An organization’s first step is to find a provider that supports CMMC compliance at the maturity level they need.
- Encrypted servers with email and file sharing: Your provider’s servers should be encrypted and hardened against attacks. This kind of security means robust firewalls and strong encryption standards (AES-256 for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ for data in transit).
- Secure email links: This approach is a way to fold compliant email capabilities with public media coverage. Instead of sending emails containing CUI, businesses can send a secure link over a plain-text email. This link directs readers to your safe and hardened servers, requiring authentication for data access. Since users access information on the server and not through email, businesses maintain security without requiring everyone to use the same encrypted email schemas.
- Sending unlimited file sizes: Many public emails limit data attachment file sizes, which diminishes flexibility in terms of sharing files outside of an organization. With unlimited file sizes, organizations can count on the fact that they can share information at any time. Or, if they are using a solution with secure links, then file size is not an issue.
- Private cloud deployment: Many cloud servers are multi-tenant, meaning they share computing and storage resources with other users. Look for an email server with single-tenant usage to protect against security breach rollover or accidental information exposure to other cloud users.
- Auditing and logging: CMMC compliance calls for auditing and logging, both for reporting purposes and forensic use during or after a security breach. A solution should allow businesses to track and audit system access related to emails or file transfers automatically and in line with compliance and security goals.
- Enterprise analytics: Any access to files should be tracked (see auditing and logging), but this involves more than compliance. Analytics gives organizations a better understanding of how your data moves through your system, from email to file sharing and storage, and how to align business and technical goals with compliance requirements.
- Security integration: Outside of encryption and hardened systems, your solution should integrate with advanced security information and event management (SIEM) tools to bolster logging and raise alarms related to suspect security events.
Achieve CMMC Email Security With Kiteworks
Secure email is a necessity; yet, it can become the most complex part of your CMMC system. That is why it is vital to have a secure, compliant, and flexible solution for business purposes. Kiteworks empowers businesses to meet the needs of your clients in the DoD supply chain and operate with efficiency.
With Kiteworks, organizations get:
- Secure email links: With Kiteworks, users do not send emails; they send links back to hardened servers. This means they can maintain CMMC compliance while also providing email coverage for outside users as needed. This enables organizations and third-party partners to avoid being locked into a specific Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption manner.
- Encryption and hardened servers: Kiteworks utilizes AES-256 encryption for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ for data in transit. Its hardened virtual appliance, granular controls, secure firewall, authentication, and other security stack integrations deliver robust security protections. Coupled with comprehensive logging and audit, organizations can achieve compliance efficiently.
- Audit logging: With Kiteworks immutable audit logs, users can trust that an organization can detect attacks sooner, and that they are maintaining the correct chain of evidence to perform forensics.
- Private cloud: Your file transfers, file storage, and access occur on a dedicated Kiteworks instance, deployed on your premises, on your Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) resources, or hosted in the cloud by Kiteworks. That means no shared runtime, databases or repositories, resources, or potential for cross-cloud breaches or attacks.
- SIEM integration: Kiteworks supports integration with major SIEM solutions, including IBM QRadar, ArcSight, FireEye Helix, LogRhythm, and others. It also has the Splunk Forwarder and includes a Splunk App.
- Data visibility and management: Kiteworks’ CISO Dashboard provides critical insight into how your data moves through your system: who handles it, when they handle it, and how. Businesses can use this information to inform essential CMMC requirements like developing security- and data-focused plans for auditors.
- Unlimited file size: Our secure email links allow organizations to share files of any size. Additionally, they can use our managed file transfer and storage capabilities to store and share unlimited sized files.
Learn more about using a secure email solution that can help defense contractors meet CMMC requirements for CUI by requesting a demo of Kiteworks. Also check out our webinar—Meeting CMMC Secure File Transfer requirements.
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