Stay Ahead of DoD's Shift from RMF to CSRMC

The Department of Defense is making one of the most significant changes to cybersecurity compliance in over a decade: a move from the Risk Management Framework (RMF) to the Cybersecurity Risk Management Construct (CSRMC).

For defense contractors, integrators, and managed service providers, this shift will redefine how compliance is achieved and measured. The message is clear: point in time checklists are out, continuous and automated compliance is in.

What is CSRMC?

CSRMC is the DoD’s new model for managing cyber risk. It takes the foundation of RMF and re-aligns it to modern operational needs, emphasizing:

• Automation instead of manual checklists

• Cyber Survivability to ensure systems remain functional in contested environments

• Continuous Monitoring for real time visibility

• DevSecOps integration for secure development and deployment

• Reciprocity and Inheritance to reduce duplication of effort across systems

The goal is to move away from static compliance paperwork and toward a living cybersecurity posture that evolves with threats.

Why It Matters to Contractors

For small and mid-sized businesses in the Defense Industrial Base, CSRMC may sound intimidating. New requirements often bring new tools, higher costs, and more time away from core operations.

The good news is that if you are preparing for CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), you are already building toward CSRMC readiness. Many of the same principles, including critical controls, ongoing monitoring, training, and evidence management, are shared across both models.

The real question is: are you aligned now, or will you scramble to catch up later?

CyberComply: CSRMC Ready Today

CyberComply was designed to solve this exact challenge. Built by Armada Cyber Defense, it is a CMMC compliance platform built on GRC principles, and it already aligns with most of CSRMC’s tenets.

Here is how:

• Automation. CyberComply automates gap assessments, SSPs, POA&Ms, and evidence collection.

• Continuous Monitoring. Dashboards and reminders keep compliance active, not static.

• Critical Controls. Focused on the core NIST 800-171 subset that matters most for CMMC Levels 1 and 2.

• Operationalization. Compliance is tied to workflows, tasks, and real time collaboration.

• Cyber Survivability (Add On). AWS Backup integration provides proof of last backup success and restore test evidence.

• Training (Add On). Lightweight training evidence tracking keeps you aligned without expensive LMS.

What You Should Do Now

Understand CSRMC. Recognize that the DoD is raising the bar from paperwork driven compliance to continuous cybersecurity assurance.

Assess your current state. If you are already preparing for CMMC, you are on the right track, but make sure your tools support automation and monitoring, not just document storage.

Choose a platform that keeps pace. CyberComply is purpose built for the Defense Industrial Base and already aligned with CSRMC. That means no re-platforming when DoD requirements shift.

Bottom Line

The DoD is moving from RMF to CSRMC, and the shift is already underway. CyberComply keeps you ahead of the curve. CMMC compliance today, CSRMC alignment tomorrow.