Our Blog

Learn what a Common Controls Framework (CCF) is, how control mapping works, and how organizations can simplify compliance across multiple cybersecurity frameworks.

Learn how to conduct a HIPAA security risk assessment with this step-by-step guide covering ePHI identification, vulnerability evaluation, safeguards, vendor risk, and remediation best practices.

Built on the Open FAIR™ model, K2 GRC's Risk Service helps organizations quantify cyber risk in financial terms, enabling more informed business investment and risk management decisions.

Understand the key differences between NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 and Revision 3 with this comprehensive migration guide and crosswalk. Learn how security requirements, assessment objectives, and DoD Organization-Defined Parameters (ODPs) align to help your organization prepare for future CMMC and FAR CUI compliance.

Learn what the CMMC Phase II suspension means for federal contractors, what's still required today, and how to prepare for NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3.

Explore practical risk register examples, including enterprise, operational, qualitative, and FAIR-based cybersecurity registers, to learn how organizations identify, prioritize, and manage risk more effectively.

Discover what a CMMC Acceptable Use Policy should include, best practices for implementation, and download a free editable template to accelerate your compliance efforts.

CMMC applies to DoD contractors protecting CUI and FCI. FedRAMP applies to cloud providers selling to federal agencies. Both trace back to NIST, but they cover different roles, data types, and compliance paths. This guide breaks down exactly what sets them apart.

K2 GRC Version 17.0.0 introduces powerful new capabilities to help organizations strengthen risk management, improve compliance visibility, and enhance workforce training.

Compare ISO 9001:2015 vs ISO 27001:2022 — understand the key differences in quality management and information security, who should pursue each certification, and how to integrate both standards.

Learn why the CMMC System and Services Acquisition (SA) domain is essential for secure procurement, vendor management, and system development.

Learn what a System Security Plan (SSP) includes, who needs one, and how organizations use SSPs to document security controls, support compliance efforts, and maintain audit readiness. Explore a real System Security Plan example and best practices for managing SSPs effectively.

Explore the key components of a CMMC System and Information Integrity policy, including flaw remediation, malware protection, system monitoring, and SSP alignment.

Learn how healthcare organizations can identify, evaluate, and mitigate clinical, operational, cybersecurity, and compliance risks to improve patient safety, strengthen resilience, and support long-term success.*

A comprehensive 135-page CMMC Level 2 System Security Plan (SSP) template with formatted placeholders for all 320 NIST SP 800-171A assessment objectives, designed to help organizations document system scope, control implementations, and assessment evidence for CMMC compliance.

Map ISO/IEC 27001:2022 controls to CMMC Level 2 assessment objectives and identify opportunities to reuse existing compliance documentation, reducing CMMC preparation effort.

Learn how a CMMC System and Communications Protection Policy helps secure network boundaries, encrypt sensitive data, and protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) to support CMMC Level 2 compliance.

This blog explores why the Security Assessment domain acts as the “report card” for an organization’s cybersecurity program by validating whether security controls actually work in practice.

This blog explores the growing importance of AI risk management and how organizations can reduce security, compliance, and operational risks associated with artificial intelligence.

A strong Risk Assessment policy helps organizations identify cybersecurity threats, prioritize vulnerabilities, and create clear remediation plans to protect systems handling CUI. This resource breaks down the core components of a CMMC-aligned Risk Assessment Policy Template, including vulnerability scanning, supply chain risk management, inventory tracking, and policy-to-SSP alignment.

Version 16.2.0 introduces major UI/UX enhancements to , including redesigned navigation, centralized user hubs, and automated manager escalations for overdue training.

Protect your systems beyond software. This guide covers CMMC PE domain controls and provides a pre-built Physical and Environmental Protection policy template to simplify compliance.

A CMMC Personnel Security Policy defines how your organization screens, manages, and removes access for individuals who interact with sensitive systems and data. It ensures only trusted users have the right level of access at all times, reducing insider risk and strengthening overall security.

The Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR) methodology helps organizations quantify cybersecurity risk in financial terms, replacing subjective scoring with measurable data. By evaluating the likelihood and impact of potential loss events, FAIR enables better decision-making, stronger risk prioritization, and clearer alignment between technical risks and business outcomes.

A quick overview of version 16.1.0, featuring unified navigation, new compliance frameworks, enhanced risk tracking, and performance improvements across the platform.

This blog explains the requirements for DOD CUI training and how organizations must properly handle Controlled Unclassified Information to stay compliant with federal regulations. It covers key frameworks like 32 CFR Part 2002, outlines contractor responsibilities, and shows how structured training and workflows reduce risk and improve audit readiness.

This blog provides a clear overview of how to build and implement a CMMC Media Protection Policy to secure sensitive data across physical and digital media. It breaks down key controls like media usage, storage, labeling, and sanitization, helping organizations reduce risk and align with CMMC Level 2 requirements.

This blog explains how a CMMC maintenance policy secures system repairs and maintenance activities. It covers vendor control, tool management, and aligning policies with your security plan to reduce risk and stay compliant.

AI adoption is accelerating, but security and governance are struggling to keep up. AIUC-1 provides a practical framework to help organizations manage AI risk, strengthen compliance, and securely scale AI systems in real-world environments.

Learn how to build a strong Incident Response plan that helps your organization detect, contain, and recover from security threats quickly. This guide breaks down key policies, procedures, and testing strategies aligned with CMMC and NIST standards.

This guide explores the "what, why, and how" of FedRAMP training. K2 GRC is here to help you navigate the complexities of the certification process.

A comprehensive guide to Identification and Authentication (IA) policies, outlining how organizations verify user and device identities, enforce secure access controls like MFA, and structure policies to align with CMMC and NIST requirements for stronger cybersecurity and audit readiness.

Learn how an ISO 27001 data retention policy helps organizations manage data securely, define retention periods, and reduce risk while maintaining compliance.

This guide explains what a CUI course catalog is and why it’s essential for organizations handling sensitive government information. It breaks down the key training components, including identification, marking, and reporting, while highlighting how structured programs help meet compliance requirements. The post also shows how platforms like K2 GRC simplify training management and reduce administrative burden.

A SOC 2 bridge letter maintains stakeholder assurance between audit periods by documenting your control status. Learn what to include and when to issue one.

This blog explains how to translate Microsoft GCC High FedRAMP CRM responsibilities into CMMC Level 2 requirements using a detailed crosswalk. It breaks down shared responsibility, control inheritance, and how to properly document both in your System Security Plan (SSP). The guide also shows how this process simplifies compliance and helps organizations prepare for CMMC assessments.

Our guide explains what CUI is, how to identify it, and who must do training.

The Audit and Accountability (AU) domain ensures your organization records and reviews system activity to detect threats, support investigations, and meet compliance requirements.

This blog explains the Audit and Accountability (AU) domain under NIST and CMMC, covering logging, monitoring, and policy structure requirements.

Ransomware isn’t just a technical threat heading into 2026, it’s a business risk that demands a unified approach, where leading cybersecurity frameworks work together to translate attacker behavior and control gaps into clear financial impact.

This blog will outline how to build an Awareness and Training policy that satisfies CMMC Level 2.

This blog will outline how to build an Access Control policy that satisfies CMMC Level 2.

We are thrilled to launch K2 GRC 13.0.0! This release introduces foundational changes to our data model, a new authorization system, and significant performance enhancements to make the platform faster and more intuitive.

K2 GRC is a fully integrated, API-first platform that unifies governance, risk, compliance, and training into one system. It delivers real-time visibility, automated evidence collection, cross-framework control mapping, FAIR®-based risk insights, and customizable training to streamline audits and strengthen organizational resilience.

The CMMC Assessment Process (CAP) provides procedures for CMMC Level 2 Assessments. CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organizations conduct assessments of organizations seeking certification (OSCs).

Malware is the most common external threat to information systems. It causes widespread damage and disruption and necessitates extensive recovery efforts. Many of today’s malware threats are stealthy and designed to avoid detection.

Flaw remediation is the most difficult CMMC level one practice. It was the only level one practice on the top 10 other than satisfied requirements.

NIST describes several approaches on how organizations can establish a demilitarized zone (DMZ). This blog will discuss the following topics around NIST SP 800-171 practice 3.13.5

Organizations handling sensitive information must define the external boundary of their system. Establishing internal boundaries helps create a multi-layer defense. Enable monitoring, control traffic and protect communications at each boundary.

NIST SP 800-171 derived three requirements from this part of FIPS 200. The Federal Acquisition Regulation derived one practice from this part of FIPS 200.

Implementing physical security controls is a critical component of safeguarding sensitive information. The NIST physical and environmental protection (PE) domain focuses on physical safeguarding practices.

Media may flow out to vendors for equipment repairs or in paper form through recycle bins. Adversaries may try to retrieve data from media after it leaves the organization. Media protection limits access to system media in both paper and digital forms.

System architecture design and separation techniques may isolate assets that handle sensitive information. Organizations may consider these separated systems external to the system handling sensitive information.

Forbes Advisor reported 68% of Americans changed passwords across accounts due to compromise. Social media and email accounts were the most common compromised passwords...

Identifying accounts and devices is foundational to creating a secure and accountable system. Accounts may have assignments to people and non-person entities...

Organizations should prevent the release of nonpublic information on systems accessible to the public. Systems accessible to the public include websites and social media...

If 3.1.1 authorizes access to the system, 3.1.2 authorizes permissions within the system. The rules of chess, for example, limit the types of functions allowed for each piece...