The practices

Six fronts. Every one ends in evidence.

Every practice exists because a different counterparty examines your security — an assessor, an agency, a prime, a board, an adversary. Each one hands the next a boundary, an architecture, or an evidence base it can build on. Start where you're being examined next.

01 CMMC & DIB 02 FedRAMP 03 RMF & Zero Trust 04 Executive & vCISO 05 Resilience 06 Emerging Tech & AI
6Practices 91Service areas 58Deliverable types 1Evidence standard

Practice 01

CMMC & DIB Assurance

Protect federal contract eligibility by making every cybersecurity assertion supportable.

CMMC · DFARS · NIST SP 800-171/172 · SPRS

Documentation
Defense contractors & manufacturers Dual-use & deep tech Prime contractors Fortune 500 federal contractors

For defense contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, and dual-use technology firms that must determine their federal cybersecurity obligations, protect FCI and CUI, establish defensible boundaries, and back every compliance assertion with operating evidence — before an assessor, a prime, or a signed affirmation puts it to the test.

What we do

CMMC applicability, level analysis & readiness NIST SP 800-171 assessment & SPRS integrity FCI & CUI identification and data-flow mapping Assessment boundary & asset categorization SSP & POA&M development, evidence engineering Secure enclave strategy & CUI migration Mock assessments & interview preparation Executive affirmation & supplier flow-down governance

Representative deliverables

CMMC applicability memorandum CUI data-flow map Assessment-boundary package 800-171 assessment workbook SSP & POA&M Executive affirmation briefing

You call us when

A solicitation includes CMMC and your SPRS score is a guess  ·  An executive must affirm compliance over generic documentation  ·  A prime is asking for 800-171 evidence you don't have.

Practice 02

FedRAMP & Federal Cloud

Turn commercially successful technology into a federally usable and continuously defensible service.

FedRAMP 20x · NIST SP 800-53 · FIPS 199/200 · RMF

Documentation
SaaS, AI & data platforms Federal agencies Prime contractors Investors in federal SaaS

For SaaS, cloud, AI, and data-platform providers deciding whether — and how — to pursue federal authorization. We size the opportunity honestly, define the boundary, and build the architecture, evidence, and governance that federal adoption requires, without stalling the commercial product.

What we do

FedRAMP applicability & 20x pathway strategy Federal business-case & investment analysis Cloud-service boundary definition & federal vs. commercial deployment Security architecture & control inheritance Key Security Indicator design & evidence automation Assessor & Marketplace readiness, package preparation Agency authorization coordination Continuous monitoring & material-change governance

Representative deliverables

FedRAMP feasibility assessment Certification-pathway memorandum Cloud boundary diagrams Responsibility matrix Evidence architecture & KSI plan Continuous-assurance operating model

You call us when

An agency asks if you're FedRAMP authorized  ·  FedRAMP is in the revenue forecast without a realistic cost or schedule  ·  Engineering can't say where the certification boundary is.

Practice 03

RMF, Security Architecture & Zero Trust

Architecture that supports authorization, modernization, and mission — not a separate compliance layer.

NIST RMF · SP 800-53 · SP 800-37 · CSF · Federal ZT models

Documentation
Federal agencies & missions Fortune 500 enterprises Critical infrastructure Cloud providers

For organizations operating complex federal, defense, cloud, and mission environments, where controls without a coherent architecture create authorization uncertainty. We design and evaluate the architecture first — boundaries, identity, segmentation, telemetry — so authorization and modernization move together instead of colliding.

What we do

Federal RMF & authorization strategy System categorization & control tailoring System-boundary analysis & security architecture Zero-trust maturity assessment & executable roadmap Identity architecture & privileged-access management Segmentation, device & workload security Logging, telemetry & continuous monitoring Cloud, hybrid & modernization security

Representative deliverables

System security architecture Authorization roadmap Boundary diagrams Control-responsibility matrix Zero-trust maturity assessment Executive risk memorandum

You call us when

Controls exist but the architecture doesn't  ·  Zero trust is a mandate with no executable plan  ·  Every system change reopens authorization uncertainty.

Practice 04

Executive Cyber Leadership & vCISO

Give leaders the evidence, context, and senior judgment required to make defensible cybersecurity decisions.

NIST CSF · Enterprise risk · Board governance

Documentation
Boards & executives PE portfolio companies Prime & defense contractors Growth-stage technology

Founder-led, senior-level cybersecurity judgment for boards, CEOs, CISOs, and investors who must translate technical security issues into business, mission, investment, and accountability decisions — in the language a boardroom acts on, not a vulnerability count.

What we do

Strategic vCISO & fractional security leadership Board cyber advisory & material-risk review Executive risk assessments & dashboards Cybersecurity governance & decision rights Investment prioritization & enterprise-risk integration Regulatory & contractual exposure review Hardy Executive Cyber Council & leadership workshops Independent challenge of the cyber program

Representative deliverables

Executive cyber-risk memorandum Board briefing Strategy & investment roadmap Governance model & decision-rights matrix Executive dashboard Quarterly assurance review

You call us when

The board can't tell which cyber risks are material  ·  Spending lacks prioritization and metrics lack business context  ·  An executive must defend security representations personally.

Practice 05

Cyber Resilience, Incident Preparedness & Supply Chain

Prepare the organization to make fast, defensible decisions when cybersecurity becomes an operational crisis.

NIST CSF Respond/Recover · CMMC IR requirements · SCRM

Documentation
Defense & prime contractors Fortune 500 enterprises Critical infrastructure Federal agencies

For organizations that must withstand cyber incidents, supplier failures, and high-consequence events without losing mission, revenue, or contract delivery. Plans that exist only on paper fail on contact — we rehearse the decisions, test the recovery assumptions, and map the dependencies before the bad weekend.

What we do

Incident-response planning & executive incident command Tabletop exercises & crisis decision rights Ransomware preparedness & recovery governance Business continuity & backup/restoration testing Third-party, supplier & subcontractor assurance Software & hardware supply-chain risk External-service-provider review Acquisition integration & inherited-risk assessment

Representative deliverables

Incident-response plan Executive command matrix Tabletop & after-action report Supplier risk model Critical-dependency map Recovery-readiness assessment

You call us when

The IR plan has never been rehearsed  ·  Executives don't know their crisis roles  ·  A subcontractor could jeopardize a federal program  ·  Recovery assumptions are untested.

Practice 06

Emerging Technology, AI & Secure R&D

Secure the technology while it is still being designed — before requirements become a barrier to investment or deployment.

NIST AI RMF · CSF · SSDF · Post-quantum standards

Documentation
Deep-tech & AI startups Defense-tech companies University spinouts Investors & venture studios

For advanced-technology organizations protecting high-value research and building products that will one day face federal requirements, investor diligence, and production scale. Architectural change is cheap on the whiteboard and ruinous in production — we put security in before the cost curve turns.

What we do

Secure R&D foundations & IP protection Research-collaboration & partner-access security AI security & governance — GenAI, agents, access control Secure product architecture & SSDLC Hardware & software supply-chain governance Quantum & post-quantum readiness, crypto-agility Federal-ready product architecture Prototype-to-production & commercialization security

Representative deliverables

Secure R&D assessment Federal-ready architecture blueprint AI governance framework & system inventory Cryptographic inventory Post-quantum migration roadmap Investor & board assurance report

You call us when

The product is being built before its security boundary is defined  ·  AI is creating ungoverned data paths  ·  Diligence found security debt late  ·  A prototype can't scale securely into production.

Not sure which practice you need?

Start with the assertion you have to defend — an SPRS score, an authorization, a board representation, an affirmation — and we'll tell you what it takes to support it.

gmhardy@nationalsecurity.com