CMMC Reference Architecture for Defense Contractors

CMMC isn’t a product you buy—it’s a standard you prove. Our Reference Architecture is a vendor-agnostic blueprint for building a defensible security boundary around FCI and CUI, aligning people, process, and technology to the domains CMMC assessors evaluate.

What this architecture is (and what it is not)

CMMC is intended to assess a contractor’s implementation of cybersecurity practices and evidence. Cloud platforms and security tools can support compliance outcomes, but the assessment focuses on how your organization configures, operates, and produces proof. Any credible “architecture” must therefore include operational evidence flows, not only technical diagrams.

The domains it maps to

The architecture is organized around CMMC domains that align to the NIST SP 800‑171 control families (e.g., Access Control, Audit & Accountability, Identification & Authentication, Incident Response, System & Information Integrity). This mapping keeps discussions grounded in what assessors measure rather than in what vendors market.

The six layers of the reference architecture

Our blueprint is intentionally modular so a contractor can adopt it incrementally or align it to a specific contract requirement.

1. Authorized cloud foundation for CUI workloads: If you use cloud services to store, process, or transmit covered defense information, you must ensure the underlying cloud platform meets at least a FedRAMP Moderate authorization baseline (or equivalent where applicable). We design the hosting layer with that requirement in mind because it is foundational—everything else inherits from it.
2. Identity and phishing-resistant MFA: High-assurance authentication is a recurring control theme across defense and federal environments. We standardize identity around least privilege, enforce MFA for privileged and remote access, and design for phishing-resistance where practical—because attackers will try to bypass “checkbox MFA.”
3. Endpoint protection and EDR telemetry: Endpoints are where credentials, data access, and initial compromise concentrate. A credible architecture assumes you will need endpoint visibility, containment, investigation, and evidence retention—not just antivirus.
4. Central logging, monitoring, and response operations: CMMC evidence requires more than “we have a tool.” You need log sources, retention policies, triage procedures, incident response workflows, and demonstrable continuous monitoring.
5. Secure access, segmentation, and Zero Trust-aligned controls: A modern defense-oriented environment should assume compromise and limit lateral movement. This layer covers secure remote access, boundary protections, and architecture decisions that reduce blast radius.
6. Governance and evidence production: DoD materials emphasize SSP and POA&M concepts in the CMMC ecosystem, and DoD guidance about cloud equivalency stresses documentation artifacts and evidence packages. Our architecture makes evidence a first-class output.

Example tooling ecosystems

Depending on environment and contract needs, organizations often implement these layers using combinations of major cloud providers, identity authenticators, endpoint security platforms, and MDR providers. We can support multiple stacks; the reference architecture stays stable while the implementation varies.