Defense contractors must comply with CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) to bid on DoD contracts. ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restricts access to defense-related technical data. NIST 800-171 provides the security control baseline for protecting CUI. FedRAMP is required for cloud services used by defense agencies. The compliance requirements are among the most stringent across any industry, and non-compliance can result in loss of contracts and legal penalties.