We Build the
Compliance Program
Your Government
Contracts Require.
Cape Endeavors provides concierge managed security & compliance built on DFARS, FAR and NIST.
Compliance Risk Exposure
Contract Disqualification
DFARS requires adequate security as a condition of award. The clause is already in your contract, with no grace period.
False Claims Act Exposure
Contractors who submit inflated or inaccurate SPRS self-assessments while affirming compliance to the government face criminal and civil liability under the False Claims Act.
Subcontractor Flow Down
Primes are embedding FAR and DFARS cybersecurity requirement checks into
supplier registrations, teaming agreements, and subcontract awards.
CUI Spillage Liability
DFARS requires 72-hour incident reporting. Undetected CUI outside your boundary turns an unknown gap into a mandatory disclosure.
With Cape Endeavors
Continuous CUI discovery and boundary validation, managed enclave operations, SSP and evidence maintenance, and 72-hour incident response capability.
A Decade of Compounding Risk
2015
DFARS 252.204-7012 established NIST SP 800-171 as a contractual cybersecurity requirement for any contractor handling Covered Defense Information.
2017
DFARS 252.204-7012 became fully effective, requiring contractors to implement all 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls and submit a compliance score to SPRS.
2021
The DOJ launches the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, using the False Claims Act to pursue contractors who misrepresent their cybersecurity posture.
2024
32 CFR Part 170 finalized, establishing the regulatory framework for formal cybersecurity validation across the Defense Industrial Base.
2025
DFARS 252.204-7021 introduced formal validation of those existing requirements as a condition of award, through self-assessment or third-party certification.
2025
FAR Overhaul proposes extending NIST SP 800-171 safeguarding requirements to all federal contractors, not just the DIB. Final rules are anticipated by end of 2026. The underlying cybersecurity obligations continue to expand.
2026+
The DoD class deviation suspends the November 2026 Phase 2 CMMC transition. DFARS 252.204-7012 and the requirement to implement NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 remain in effect.
Non-compliance is no longer a paperwork problem. It is a contract risk.
A layered framework of FAR, DFARS, and NIST requirements has made cybersecurity a hard gate on contract eligibility at every tier of the supply chain. But passing that gate is not the same as being secure.
Cape Endeavors builds compliance programs on a foundation of genuine security architecture and concierge service, so the controls you document are the controls you actually operate.
Compliant Environment
Before you can protect CUI, you have to know where it lives. Cape identifies and inventories all CUI, ITAR, and covered defense information across your environment, scopes your boundary accurately, and migrates everything to a secure enclave built on DFARS 252.204-7012 requirements.
Spillage Monitoring
CUI does not stay inside boundaries on its own. Cape Endeavors runs recurring scans across your environment to identify spillage outside the enclave and remediates it back to the secure environment before it becomes a mandatory 72-hour report under DFARS 252.204-7012.
Flow Down Requirements
DFARS 252.204-7021 makes primes legally responsible for their supply chain's cybersecurity posture. The proposed FAR CUI Rule would extend those same flow-down obligations to all federal contractors at every tier. A weak security architecture anywhere in the chain is a threat vector everywhere.
Every DoD cybersecurity mandate, covered.
Defense contractors operate under a stack of overlapping DFARS requirements. Cape Endeavors builds programs that satisfy all of them simultaneously, using the compliance framework as the foundation for a genuinely secure architecture, not a checklist to file and forget.
NIST 800-171 Rev 2
Security Control
Framework
The 110-control technical and operational standard representing the actual security requirements your environment must satisfy.
DFARS 252.204-7012
Safeguarding Covered
Defense Information
The foundational clause in effect since 2017, requiring implementation of NIST SP 800-171 controls and report cyber incidents.
DFARS 252.204-7021
Cybersecurity
Validation
Requires formal validation of NIST SP 800-171 implementation as a condition of award. Self-assessments and SPRS affirmations are required.
FAR 52.240-93 (formerly FAR 52.204-21)
FCI Safeguarding
Requires formal validation of NIST SP 800-171 implementation as a condition of award. Self-assessments and SPRS affirmations are required.
32 CFR Part 170 §170.23
Flow-Down Requirment
Makes prime contractors legally responsible for their supply chain's cybersecurity posture at every tier with no depth limit.
32 CFR Part 2002 / DoDI 5200.48
CUI Identification and Handling
Governs what CUI is, who can designate it, and how contractors must handle it. Contractors cannot self-designate CUI.
Proposed FAR CUI Rule
Government-Wide CUI Expansion
Extends NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 safeguarding and flow-down obligations to all federal contractors, not just defense. Awaiting finalization.
ISOO Notices
2026-07 and 2026-08
Agency CUI Obligations
Tightens federal agency responsibilities for communicating CUI obligations to contractors. Contracts must include explicit guidance on CUI markings, safeguarding, training, reporting, and penalties.
Why Organizations Choose Cape Endeavors
100+
Collective Cyber Experience Across Our Team
100+
Firms Supported
<90
Average days for Customer to achieve CMMC Compliance
50%
Reduction in Cost of Ownership vs DIY
