CMMC Level 2 readiness involves security controls, evidence, documentation, assessments, and ongoing remediation. AI-assisted tools can help organizations organize this work and reduce the manual effort involved.
Overview
Preparing for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 can involve more than implementing technical security controls. Organizations also need to understand their current security posture, collect relevant information, document how controls are implemented, identify gaps, and track remediation work.
For organizations managing these activities across multiple systems, manually compiling and maintaining compliance information can become time-consuming.
This is where AI-assisted compliance tooling can help.
The CMMC X RangeSherpa demonstrations from Fusion Cyber show an approach in which security information can be gathered from connected systems, compliance documentation can be prepared, and users can receive AI-assisted guidance for controls that require additional input.
The goal is not to replace security professionals or the CMMC assessment process. Instead, the goal is to make the preparation and documentation work easier to manage.
What is CMMC Level 2?
CMMC, or the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, is the Department of Defense's cybersecurity framework for assessing the protection of information handled by organizations within the Defense Industrial Base.
CMMC Level 2 is based on the security practices in NIST SP 800-171 and is intended for organizations that handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) under applicable contractual requirements.
For organizations preparing for Level 2, the work can include reviewing security controls, gathering evidence, documenting implementations, identifying gaps, and maintaining remediation plans.
That creates an opportunity for automation: some information can be collected directly from the systems an organization already uses, while other controls require people to provide context and make decisions.
Why is CMMC compliance preparation time-consuming?
CMMC readiness can involve information spread across cloud infrastructure, identity systems, source-code repositories, endpoint environments, policies, procedures, and other organizational systems.
A compliance team may need to answer questions such as:
- What security controls are currently implemented?
- What evidence supports those implementations?
- Where are gaps in the current environment?
- How should each control be documented?
- Which issues still require remediation?
- How should outstanding work be tracked?
When this information is collected manually, teams can spend significant time moving between systems and maintaining spreadsheets and documents.
An AI-assisted approach can help reduce some of this administrative work by connecting compliance activities to the systems where relevant information already exists.
How does CMMC X RangeSherpa approach compliance readiness?
The CMMC X RangeSherpa demo illustrates a workflow built around a combination of automation and guided human input.
The approach can be summarized as:
- Connect relevant organizational systems.
- Gather available security and configuration information.
- Use that information to support compliance documentation.
- Review controls that require additional organizational input.
- Use AI assistance to help work through those controls.
- Track outstanding remediation and compliance work.
The important distinction is that not every compliance requirement can necessarily be determined through an API or automated system check.
Instead, automation can handle information that is technically observable, while people remain involved where organizational context, policies, procedures, or judgment are required.
Connecting existing systems
One of the approaches demonstrated by CMMC X RangeSherpa is connecting the compliance workflow to systems that already contain relevant security information.
The demo references integrations with platforms such as cloud services and GitHub.
The compliance dashboard provides visibility into the organization's current posture and SPRS candidate score.
Connecting these systems can reduce the need for teams to manually copy information from one platform into another.
Instead, relevant technical information can be used as part of the compliance preparation workflow.
For organizations with multiple systems, this can make it easier to maintain a more current view of their security posture.
Tracking the SPRS score and security posture
The demonstration includes a dashboard showing an SPRS candidate score and historical posture information.
The Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) is used by the Department of Defense to collect and assess information about contractor cybersecurity performance. For organizations preparing for CMMC, understanding their current score and identifying areas that require attention can be useful as part of their readiness process.
A dashboard can provide a more convenient way to monitor this information than maintaining disconnected records.
The objective isn't simply to increase a number. A useful compliance workflow should help organizations understand why their posture looks the way it does and which areas require additional work.
Supporting System Security Plan documentation
A System Security Plan (SSP) describes how an organization implements applicable security requirements and provides important context about its environment and security practices.
Preparing this documentation can require teams to gather information from multiple sources and explain how individual controls are implemented.
Control implementation information can be organized as part of the compliance documentation workflow.
AI can assist with drafting and organizing this information, but the resulting documentation still needs to accurately reflect the organization's actual environment.
That human review is important. Compliance documentation should describe what an organization actually does, not what an AI system assumes it does.
Managing Plans of Action and Milestones
Not every security requirement will necessarily be fully satisfied when an organization begins its readiness work.
When gaps are identified, organizations need a way to document and manage the work required to address them.
A Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM) can be used to organize outstanding security work, including the issue being addressed, planned remediation activities, and relevant milestones.
The demonstration shows POAM information being organized for outstanding compliance work.
Having this information organized in one workflow can make it easier for security and compliance teams to understand what remains to be addressed.
What happens when a control cannot be automated?
This is one of the more important parts of an AI-assisted compliance workflow.
Some security information can be obtained programmatically. Other requirements depend on organizational policies, processes, procedures, or evidence that cannot simply be determined by querying a cloud API.
Instead of treating these controls as a dead end, CMMC X RangeSherpa provides a questionnaire-based workflow with AI assistance.
The dashboard provides visibility into compliance coverage and the organization's current readiness posture.
This creates a hybrid model:
Automation where technical evidence is available.
Guided human input where organizational context is required.
That distinction is important because effective compliance automation isn't necessarily about eliminating people from the process. It is about reducing repetitive work so security professionals can spend more time reviewing evidence, making decisions, and addressing gaps.
AI assistance for compliance questions
The RangeSherpaby Fusion Cyber provides conversational interface that can help users work through CMMC-related questions.
The AI assistant provides guidance within the CMMC compliance workflow.
This can be useful when a user needs clarification about a control or needs help understanding what information should be provided.
The benefit of this approach is that the assistance is connected to the compliance workflow rather than existing only as a separate general-purpose chatbot.
Users can work through the questionnaire and seek clarification as they encounter specific requirements.
What does the complete workflow look like?
The demonstrations show how several pieces of the compliance process can fit together:
Connect systems
↓
Gather available security information
↓
Review security posture
↓
Prepare control documentation
↓
Work through controls requiring human input
↓
Use AI assistance where clarification is needed
↓
Identify outstanding gaps
↓
Track remediation through POAM information
This combination can help turn CMMC preparation from a collection of disconnected spreadsheets and documents into a more structured workflow.
Can AI replace a CMMC compliance team?
No.
AI-assisted compliance tools should be viewed as a way to support compliance teams, not as a replacement for security professionals, organizational decision-makers, or required assessment activities.
People still need to:
- Validate that information is accurate
- Review generated documentation
- Determine whether controls are actually implemented
- Provide organizational context
- Address identified security gaps
- Make remediation decisions
- Prepare for applicable assessment requirements
The role of AI is to help reduce repetitive work and provide guidance throughout these activities.
Who can benefit from AI-assisted CMMC readiness?
AI-assisted CMMC workflows can be useful for organizations that need to manage significant amounts of compliance information, particularly teams working across multiple technical systems.
Potential users include:
- Defense contractors
- Security and compliance teams
- IT administrators
- CMMC program managers
- Security leaders
- Organizations preparing for CMMC Level 2 requirements
The value is particularly relevant when compliance information is distributed across several cloud and enterprise systems and teams need a centralized way to organize their readiness activities.
How CMMC X RangeSherpa fits into Fusion Cyber's enterprise platform
CMMC readiness is part of a broader cybersecurity and enterprise operations challenge: organizations need practical systems that help people manage security requirements while they continue operating their businesses.
Fusion Cyber's enterprise platform brings together capabilities across TRAIN, GROW, OPERATE, and DEFEND.
CMMC X RangeSherpa fits naturally within the DEFEND side of that model, where AI-assisted systems can support cybersecurity, compliance, cloud security, and other security operations.
The CMMC demonstrations provide a practical example of that approach: use automation where information can be gathered programmatically, use AI to assist with complex questions, and keep people involved in decisions that require organizational context and security judgment.
See CMMC X RangeSherpa in action
The demonstrations provide a practical look at how an AI-assisted CMMC readiness workflow can combine system integrations, compliance documentation, posture tracking, questionnaires, and conversational guidance.
Trusted references and external documentation
Explore Fusion Cyber's Enterprise AI Platform
CMMC readiness is one example of how AI can support real enterprise security workflows.
Fusion Cyber's Enterprise platform extends this approach across training, growth, operations, and cyber defense, helping organizations apply AI to practical business and cybersecurity challenges.
If your organization is exploring AI-assisted cybersecurity, compliance, or enterprise transformation, learn more about the capabilities available through Fusion Cyber's Enterprise platform.
Explore the Fusion Cyber Enterprise platform →
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions and detailed answers about this topic
This article answers:
- What is CMMC Level 2 compliance?
- How can AI help with CMMC compliance readiness?
- How can organizations automate parts of CMMC preparation?
- What is a CMMC System Security Plan (SSP)?
- What is a CMMC Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM)?
- What is an SPRS score?
- How can AI assist with CMMC compliance documentation?
- What is CMMC X RangeSherpa?
