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Scott Singer, President

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Scott brings 30 years of military experience in both active duty and reserve rolls along with 26 years of industry experience. Most recently Scott was at PaR Systems, where he was Chief Information Officer since 2010. At PaR, Scott had responsibility for information systems, global quality, export control, security, and continuous process improvement. Previously, Scott spent 16 years with Medtronic in various leadership positions including the European Infrastructure Manager, the Vascular division CIO, and the head of global security. Scott has extensive experience with government contracting specializing in DFARS and NIST SP 800-171. In addition, Scott navigated his last company through many international export, privacy and cybersecurity matters. Scott is the past president and currently on the executive leadership board for the Minnesota Technology Association (mntech), board member and past President of the UW Madison NROTC Alumni Association and board member of InfraGard. He was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) for his second consecutive term. Scott has an MBA in Information Systems from the University of MN, Carlson School, and BS is Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Scott is one of the first to be recognized as an authorized CMMC-AB Registered Practitioner (RP).

NIST, Advice, cybersecurity, Defense Industry

How to Submit a NIST Score?

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Interim Final Rule that went into effect on 30 November 2020, requires both primes and sub-contractors to submit their NIST SP 800-171 assessment score to the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS). While the rule will only impact new contracts, the DoD plans to do 148 Medium Assessments and 81 High Assessments over the next three years, with an estimated 8,823 basic assessment scores to be uploaded on SPRS each year to award new contracts to small businesses. At CyberNINES, we are aware of these changes and committed to helping small and medium-sized businesses accept purchase orders from the DoD and Prime Contractors.   

Scott Singer, President
Scott Singer, President
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News, Advice, Privacy, Data Security, Ransomeware, Publications

Small Businesses Are Especially Vulnerable to Ransomware Trends

Small businesses often rely on Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to handle their IT needs including cybersecurity. However, ransomware targets companies of all sizes, and small businesses are especially vulnerable to supply chain attacks. In this July Newsletter of Cyber Security Summit | Minneapolis, MN Scott Singer, President of CyberNINES, shares a few basic strategies for small businesses to protect themselves from ransomware supply chain attacks.

Scott Singer, President
Scott Singer, President
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CMMC Overview
CMMC2.0, NIST, cybersecurity, Defense Industry

CMMC Overview: What You Need to Know to Become and Remain Compliant

What is CMMC?

In January 2020 the Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new standard for assessing an organization’s cybersecurity posture called “Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).” According to CMMC, all DoD contractors that process, transmit or store Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) will be asked to be certified by a third-party assessment organization (C3PAO). The new CMMC program consists of five levels of certification in both cybersecurity practices and processes. 

Scott Singer, President
Scott Singer, President
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CMMC2.0, Data Security, Webinar Recording, CUI

Webinar Recording: Making CMMC Compliance Affordable for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Small and medium businesses represent the majority of DoD contractors in the Defense Industrial Base. Unfortunately, for this vital part of the defense industry, the cost of achieving CMMC compliance is a significant challenge as many contractors are already on a tight budget. The DIB needs to find cost-effective solutions to facilitate CMMC compliance.

Scott Singer, President
Scott Singer, President
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CMMC2.0, NIST, News, Defense Industry

DoD’s Interim Final Rule

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Interim Final Rule: CMMC, NIST SP 800-171 & What It Means for You

The interim rule released on 29 September 2020 for public comment and went into effect on 30 November 2020. The rule is not retroactive to existing contracts and will only impact new contracts. The rule actually creates two assessment frameworks:

Scott Singer, President
Scott Singer, President
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