Day 47: Why Cybersecurity Starts with Knowing What You Own

As we hit Day 47 of the CMMC Compliance Countdown, it’s time to talk about something deceptively simple: knowing what you own.

Before you can protect anything, whether it’s Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Federal Contract Information (FCI), or your internal systems, you need to know what’s in your environment. That’s where asset management comes in.

Why Asset Management Matters for CMMC

CMMC doesn’t just ask you to secure your data—it asks you to define the boundaries of your systems. That means:

• Identifying every laptop, server, mobile device, and cloud service that touches sensitive data
• Understanding which assets are in scope for CMMC Level 1, 2, or 3
• Mapping data flows between systems to ensure nothing is missed

Without a clear inventory, your System Security Plan (SSP) will be incomplete, and your assessment will stall.

Common Mistakes Contractors Make

• Assuming IT already has a full inventory
• Forgetting about shadow IT (unauthorized apps or devices)
• Not tagging assets that interact with CUI or FCI

What You Can Do Today

• Create a spreadsheet or use a tool to list all hardware and software
• Tag assets by sensitivity level (CUI, FCI, internal use)
• Review access permissions and update regularly

Valeo Networks helps contractors build asset inventories that align with CMMC requirements. Don’t wait until your assessment to find out what’s missing.

Schedule your assessment today
📧 Contact: Jim Gast – jim@valeonetworks.com