Jan 25, 2021
Azure, Government Cloud
Microsoft Office 365 has four cloud environments for its users, each one serving a different purpose. Understanding the differences between them is crucial in determining which one you’ll need to use and why you’ll need to use it. Depending on the…
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Jan 04, 2021
Government Cloud, Office 365, Security
Protecting your data is of paramount importance for every organization, no matter what kind of data they hold. But some data requires special protection, particularly when it comes to handling government information. This information comes with some stringent requirements for…
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Oct 16, 2020
Government Cloud, Security, Tech Talks
Meeting CMMC Compliance with Microsoft 365 Compliance Manager With the new DFARS rules implementing CMMC going into effect on November 30th, it is time to take your security posture seriously, if you haven’t already. While CMMC will be rolled out…
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Oct 05, 2020
Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, Security
Compliance with NIST 800-171 and DFARS requires two critical documents: The Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM or POA&M) and the System Security Plan (SSP). The SSP shows how a cloud service provider (CSP) meets security requirements. Further, the POAM…
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Sep 08, 2020
Government Cloud, Microsoft Teams
GCC High Environment with Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing In order to be a government contractor, modern businesses today must comply with strict cybersecurity requirements to keep their systems safe. For a US Public Sector customer to be eligible for GCC High, the business or organization must be a designated government…
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Aug 10, 2020
Azure, Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, Security
For the inaugural episode of our new show, “The Clearly Cloud Podcast”, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Microsoft’s Director of External Communications, David Pryor. What followed was nearly forty minutes of in-depth discussion about privacy, security, and tech…
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Aug 10, 2020
Government Cloud, Office 365, Security
Since 2018, the DoD has required NIST 800-171 compliance for certain DoD contracts. However, they’ve struggled with low adoption rates across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), confusing auditing systems, and overall friction relating to compliance. In an effort to broaden compliance,…
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May 06, 2020
Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, Office 365
Simply having GCC High, GCC, or Azure Government does not meet any compliance framework all by itself. This should go without saying, but NO platform comes out-of-the-box compliant. No matter which cloud you are in, you must build upon their…
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Apr 29, 2020
Azure, Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, Office 365, Security
One of the most common questions we receive is “Which cloud is right for us?”. Understanding the differences between Commercial, GCC and GCC High Microsoft 365 environments is important, and almost directly aligns to your compliance needs. Before making the…
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Apr 21, 2020
Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, Office 365, Security
What is CMMC? CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) is a DoD unified cybersecurity framework intended to provide a security standard focused on reducing the exfiltration of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) from the defense industrial base. CMMC combines various cybersecurity standards…
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Feb 04, 2020
Cloud Computing, Government Cloud, KnowledgeBase, Security
ITAR, DFARS, DIB, CMMI, CMMC, FCI, CUI, GCC, ATP, AOS-G. After a few months of working in any specialized area, particularly within the DoD, or IT arenas, you become desensitized to the constant flow of acronyms and initialisms. When seeking…
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Jan 31, 2020
Government Cloud, Security
The Department of Defense has just released Version 1.0 of CMMC, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. It will provide the basis for ensuring compliance under DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement). It replaces the Version 0.7 draft, which was…
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