write a substantive response and include questions you have to their post for part 1 and part 2 below.
Part 1 D8
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a requirement from the DoD for certifying the protection of sensitive information and access to that sensitive information within the defense supply chain. For both contractors and sub-contractors of the DoD, this certification requirement is meant to ensure that the proper cybersecurity measures are employed for the protection of information. The CMMC 2.0 provides a framework with 3 levels of maturity with 1 as the lowest level of maturity and these levels are determined based on practices and processes implemented by the organization.
The CMMC requires a third-party assessment to evaluate the compliance of the organization with its respective maturity level. Certification level requirements are relative to the nature of the information that a contractor or subcontractor is responsible for handling. Companies that wish to retain DoD contracts will need to maintain compliance with their CMMC certification level.
The CMMC uses a combination of standards that includes NIST SP 800-171 and NIST SP 800-53. With this association in mind, a recent article regarding updates NIST has made to these guidelines ( ) is relevant and timely as it impacts the alignment of standards and controls used in the CMMC. Specifically, NIST SP 800-171 has been revised to align with the language used in NIST SP 800-53. These updates could impact compliance and requirements for DoD contractors.
CMMC compliance requirements do create more work for DoD contractors because they need to keep up-to-date with any revised publications of these NIST standards that would impact the controls they have in place or are required to have in place for their CMMC maturity level. One of the key takeaways from the article is that the revision of NIST publications provides increased levels of detail and specifications for controls, which should help contractors to better understand and comply with the expectations but can also create more work as the compliance expectation becomes more clear. Because the CMMC is relatively new and still evolving, contractors can likely expect some churn in the waters as compliance is defined and certified.
Part 2 D9
How Smart Contracts Will Change the World
In this TedTalk, the speaker presents her opinion on how smart contracts can contribute to a more beautiful and functional world. She explains the underlying technology of smart contracts is blockchain technology, which provides an indisputable, distributed ledger. This means that the record is there forever, very hard to change, and cannot be created by one computer alone. She also mentions that the underlying technology requires a lot of math – which is true of the technology, but not necessarily required of the user to understand in order to implement or benefit from the technology.
The speaker explains that blockchain can build decentralized applications that codify business logic, facilitate rule storage, verify rules, and self execute. Smart contracts are not really contracts, but a set of if-then logic that executes once conditions have been met. The speaker compares them to very secure vending machines. Smart contracts do not require an intermediary, broker, government, etc., and they execute automatically.
According to the speaker, the business world is in the process of adopting smart contracts and these smart contracts have the potential to solve problems that have never been solved before. She provides 4 examples of how smart contracts can be used in application to solve real-world problems:
1. Smart contracts are very good at storing data – in this example, census data can be collected anonymously and applied to provide necessary services like schools and roads. This example uses blockchain technology to collect the data anonymously and report the numbers to public officials who can use it to make informed decisions.
2. Facilitate trust – In this example urban farmers are connected to land owners and consumers. Land owners can lease land to these farmers who are then able to distribute their goods in the community, creating trust in the food supply chain and providing consumers with locally grown food.
3. Function as software libraries – In this example, organ transplant donors and recipients are connected using blockchain technology to solve problems of time, geography, and biological matching to provide life saving organ transplants.
4. Authentication – In this example, refugees are given a smart identification card that is preloaded so that they can get the resources they need to survive, like food and shelter, without an ID. This technology example also allows refugees to borrow and build credit which provides an opportunity to not only survive but to thrive and increases their chance of success in the new community.
As the speaker says, blockchain can contribute to a more beautiful world. We can used smart contract to solve long standing problems and attract talent by employing this technology.
In a final example, the speaker tells us about an artist community of 150,000 artists from 50 countries using blockchain technology to get paid fairly. In this application the artists are able to connect and unleash their creativity in a way that has never been done before. This example showcases the intersection of art and technology and its contribution to a more beautiful and functional world.
For this topic, I found an article posted by Forbes within the last 2 weeks that expands on examples of blockchain technology applications for smart contracts as well as identifying gaps and opportunities for business adoption.
According to the article, most people think of blockchain technology and immediately jump to crypto currency, but the powerful underlying technology is smart contracts that execute if-then logic to automate an array of business processes. An example of where smart contracts can be used from this article is supply chain management. Multiple parties are linked together and only when certain, specified conditions are met will the smart contract self-execute the intended action – for example, verification that a medication product was kept in specific temperature conditions for the entirety of its supply chain journey. Other examples in the article are HR uses for benefits administration and payroll processing. Smart contracts offer an opportunity for automation and to remove human error from businesses which results in more efficiency and increased trust.
The article goes on to say that only 30% of business leaders have a strong understanding of smart contracts and their value. This leaves a large gap of opportunity for grater adoption, which according to the article will require education on smart contracts and blockchain, with a need for disassociation between blockchain and crypto currency. There is also a requirement that smart contracts become more flexible to meet the varied needs of businesses, specifically the ability to modify the smart contract after it is deployed when needs and agreements change. Also, the programming language used for writing smart contracts is not widely known; because of this, smart contracts will need to be more compatible with widely known programming languages like Java and Python.
According to the article, 44% of the top 100 publicly traded companies are using blockchain technology. The article speculates that those who have not already adopted the technology would be wise to educate themselves and work towards adoption
