Within the CMMC Ecosystem which organization ultimately will manage and oversee the training, testing, authorization, and certification of candidate…

The Department of Defense (DoD) has designated The Cyber AB (formerly the CMMC Accreditation Body) as the sole authorized partner to operationalize the CMMC standard. The Cyber AB is responsible for the entire CMMC ecosystem, which includes managing the training, testing, authorization, and certification of all CMMC assessors and instructors. The term "CMMC Assessors and Instructors Certification Organization (CAICO)" is a functional descriptor for this specific role that The Cyber AB fulfills within the ecosystem. Therefore, it is the organization that ultimately oversees these certification activities.

A. DoD OUSD: The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) created the CMMC program and sets policy, but it has delegated the operational management of the assessment ecosystem to The Cyber AB.

B. DIB Collaborative Information Sharing Environment: This is a program focused on sharing cyber threat intelligence within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), not on training or certifying personnel.

C. Committee on National Security Systems Instructions: CNSSI is a U.S. government body that sets policies and standards for national security systems; it does not manage the CMMC certification process.

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1. U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Chief Information Officer. "CMMC Program." DoD CIO Website. Accessed 2023. The site states

"The Department of Defense (DoD) is working with the CMMC Accreditation Body (The Cyber AB) to accredit CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAOs) and CMMC Assessors to conduct CMMC assessments." This establishes The Cyber AB as the responsible entity.

2. The Cyber AB. "About Us." The Cyber AB Website. Accessed 2023. The organization's mission statement clarifies its role: "The Cyber AB is the official accreditation body of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Ecosystem and the sole authorized non-governmental partner of the U.S. Department of Defense in implementing and overseeing the CMMC standard." This includes the credentialing of assessors and instructors.

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Software Engineering Institute (SEI). "CMMC 2.0: What’s New and What’s the Same?" SEI Blog

November 18

2021. This article discusses the ecosystem roles

noting that the CMMC-AB (now The Cyber AB) is responsible for "training and certifying CMMC assessors and C3PAOs." This confirms the function described in the question belongs to The Cyber AB.