Contractors handling CUI have been required to meet all 110 NIST 800-171 controls since 2017. For years, enforcement was light and many companies waited, but that period is over. As Matt Travis, Executive Director & CEO, Cyber AB, put it on our recent CMMC Phase 2 webinar:

In your existing contract, you’ve already agreed to protect and safeguard CUI and implement the NIST 800-171 standard. You’ve already committed to that. All CMMC is the validation that you’re doing it.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here are five reasons to get compliant in 2026, directly from the experts:

1. You can’t win new business without it

Over 100 DoD contracts require CMMC Level 2, and a contractor that isn’t certified can’t compete for them. Speaking about contracts that involve CUI, Matt Travis was direct about where new RFPs are headed:

If you have your eyes on upcoming procurements, you can certainly bet your bottom dollar that when those RFPs come out, they’re going to have CMMC Level 2 C3PAO.

Level 2 C3PAO certification means an accredited C3PAO (CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization) has verified your NIST SP 800-171 implementation, not that you scored yourself. The Pentagon has estimated the Level 2 third-party assessment requirement will apply to 80,000 companies. Getting in line early is how you stay eligible to bid.

2. You can’t renew the contracts you already have

Compliance isn’t only about new work. It protects the revenue you already booked. When CMMC requirements get written into a contract option year, you have to meet them to keep going. Travis again:

If you have a contract that has option years after November, if you have CUI that meets that as defense CUI, you should expect Level 2 C3PAO requirements. You’re going to see those requirements as a mandatory condition be entered into your option year.

It takes most organizations 3-6 months to achieve CMMC, so it’s important to start your preparation well ahead of any renewal dates. 

3. Primes are requiring it from their subs today

Prime contractors aren’t waiting for the government to force the issue. They are responsible for the security of their supply chains, and they are already cutting subcontractors who can’t show progress.

Lockheed Martin made this explicit. In its June 30, 2025 supplier announcement, they wrote:

By now, all DIB companies managing CUI should have fully implemented and be confidently meeting NIST SP 800-171 (r2) requirements.

CISOs at other major primes said the same thing at PreVeil’s CMMC Summit. JR Williamson, CISO at Leidos, was clear about what happens to a strong supplier who isn’t certified:

We may have a really great supplier with a perfect solution, but if they’re not certified and won’t be for another 12-15 months, we just can’t use them.

The primes aren’t only applying pressure. They are also helping. As Williamson described the effort to bring suppliers along, “there’s a lot of hugging going on to help folks get there.” But the message underneath the help is consistent: demonstrate CMMC readiness or lose your place in the supply chain.

Source: How Primes are Supporting Subcontractors on the Race to CMMC

Source: Lockheed Martin Just Told Suppliers: Get CMMC Compliant or Get Cut

4. Non-compliance is now a False Claims Act problem

When you certify an SPRS score you can’t back up, you aren’t just out of compliance; You may be making a false claim to the government. The DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, launched in 2021, uses the False Claims Act to hold contractors accountable for cybersecurity misrepresentations. It recovered $52 million in 2025 and has produced at least 14 settlements to date.

The June 2026 LOGZONE case shows how this plays out. The Huntsville, Alabama contractor agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims on two Navy contracts while failing to implement required NIST SP 800-171 controls. When the Defense Contract Management Agency assessed its implementation, LOGZONE scored -170 on a scale that runs from -203 to 110.

What makes LOGZONE notable is how it surfaced. Most earlier Civil Cyber-Fraud cases started with a whistleblower. This one came out of a DCMA assessment by the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center (DIBCAC). The Justice Department was explicit about its intent. As Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Civil Division said:

Government contractors that obtain sensitive defense information in administering their contracts must follow required cybersecurity standards. The Justice Department will continue to investigate potential violations of these cybersecurity requirements in order to protect this critical information from external threats.

LOGZONE is one of a growing list. Recent cybersecurity False Claims Act settlements include Raytheon and Nightwing Group at $8.4 million, MORSECORP at $4.6 million, Penn State at $1.25 million, and Georgia Tech Research Corp at $875,000. The penalties dwarf the cost of getting compliant in the first place. LOGZONE’s $507,144 settlement was most of the value of the contract it won.

The late cyber attorney, Robert Metzger, framed the exposure simply in PreVeil’s webinar on the legal risks of non-compliance:

The smart move is to protect yourself. Now. Not because you have to comply but because you want your enterprise to stay in business.

5. The DoD can assess you at any time

Under 252.240-7997,  the DoD reserves the right to conduct Medium and High assessments of a contractor’s NIST SP 800-171 implementation based on the criticality of the contract or the data involved. The LOGZONE case shows an assessment can become an enforcement action.

Metzger’s point from the same webinar cuts through the temptation to wait for CMMC to become fully mandatory:

CMMC is beside the point for the present obligation to comply. If you have Controlled Unclassified Information, you are in possession of information which the government has concluded that law or regulation require you to protect.

You don’t control when the assessment comes. You only control whether you’re ready for it.

Achieve CMMC with PreVeil

Trusted by thousands of defense contractors, PreVeil is the leading CMMC solution for small and midsize businesses- validated in over 100 CMMC L2 assessments. It includes end-to-end encrypted email + file sharing to protect CUI, pre-filled, assessment-ready documentation, and a network of preferred MSPs, consultants and assessors. The result: contractors save up to 75% compared to legacy solutions like GCC High and get to certification faster.

Don’t wait for the RFP, the option year, the prime’s email, or the assessment. Schedule a free 15-minute call with our compliance team.