Summit Business Technologies (SBT), of Millersville, has been selected as an expert resource to help Maryland defense contractors comply with NIST 800-171 cybersecurity standards. The expanded NIST standards define what contractors must do to protect sensitive defense information that passes through their information technology systems.

The Maryland Defense Cybersecurity Assistance Program (DCAP) named SBT to a select team of cybersecurity providers with the experience and expertise to help contractors become compliant with NIST cybersecurity standards. Contractors and subcontractors found out of compliance will lose eligibility for Department of Defense (DOD) business, under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS) that govern DOD contracts.

“The process of complying with NIST 800-171 regulations can be intimidating for small and mid-size contractors,” said Leo Minegishi, SBT’s director of Information Security. “We remove the complexity by helping them draft policies, process changes, and secure the configuration of their IT systems to remediate security gaps that would put their federal contracts at risk.”

The assistance program is funded by the DOD through the Maryland Department of Commerce and coordinated by the MD Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Maryland’s defense supply chain generates more than $57 billion in economic impact for the state.