🔐 CMMC Compliance and Machine Tracking: What It Means for Manufacturers

If you do any work tied to the Department of Defense (DoD) — directly or indirectly — you’ve probably heard the acronym CMMC tossed around lately. It stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and it’s becoming a key requirement for manufacturers that handle defense-related work.

But what does CMMC have to do with Machine Tracking, and how can our hardware and software fit safely into a CMMC-compliant environment?

Let’s unpack that.

What Is CMMC?

CMMC is the Department of Defense’s framework for ensuring its suppliers follow strong cybersecurity practices. Every company in the defense supply chain — from major contractors to small machine shops — will need to meet one of three certification levels:

1. Level 1 – Foundational: Basic cyber hygiene (think strong passwords, antivirus, and firewalls).

2. Level 2 – Advanced: Adds the NIST 800-171 controls required for companies handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

3. Level 3 – Expert: The highest level, reserved for prime contractors and critical defense programs.

In short: if you make or touch parts for the DoD, you’ll need to show that your business is protecting data appropriately.

Where Machine Tracking Fits

Machine Tracking’s system — the hardware device that monitors electrical activity and the cloud dashboard that displays uptime, downtime, and part counts — sits on your production network. That naturally raises a fair question: Does it affect your CMMC compliance?

Here’s the good news:

Machine Tracking doesn’t collect, process, or store any Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

Our devices measure only operational telemetry — whether a machine is running, idle, or stopped — not CAD files, programs, or customer part data.

Hardware: Secure and Isolated by Design

Each Machine Tracking device connects to your Wi-Fi to send encrypted data to our cloud platform. To align with CMMC best practices, we recommend:

• Using secure Wi-Fi (WPA2 or better)

• Segmenting the device network so it’s isolated from computers that handle CUI

• Keeping firmware updates signed and verified

When deployed this way, Machine Tracking hardware introduces virtually no risk to CMMC compliance.

Software: Built for Data Protection

Our web dashboard uses TLS encryption (HTTPS) for all communications, stores data securely in the cloud, and applies role-based access control so users only see what they need to.All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.

And because we only capture machine status, not design or customer data, the platform sits entirely outside the CUI boundary for most manufacturers.

If your team happens to label downtime or parts tied to a defense job, that metadata may be part of your CUI workflow.

In those cases, your compliance documentation can simply list Machine Tracking as an operational monitoring tool that transmits non-CUI data.

Integration with Other Systems

If you connect Machine Tracking to other systems — like ERP or MES software that does contain CUI — it’s important to define and document that integration boundary.

Use secure API keys, encryption, and proper user authentication. That ensures your entire environment remains aligned with CMMC Level 2 or higher requirements.

Bottom Line

Machine Tracking supports CMMC compliance by:

Area	CMMC Relevance	Risk	Mitigation
Hardware	On shop-floor networks	Low	Use secure Wi-Fi and network segmentation
Data	Operational telemetry only	Very Low	No CUI collected
Cloud Dashboard	TLS + encryption at rest	Low	Access control + least privilege
Integrations	Optional	Context-dependent	Use secure APIs and document boundaries

How to Talk About It with Your Customers

If your prime contractor or cybersecurity auditor asks whether Machine Tracking is CMMC-compliant, here’s the simplest way to describe it:

“Machine Tracking doesn’t collect or store Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). It captures operational telemetry from our machines and transmits it securely over encrypted channels. The system aligns with CMMC Level 1 practices and supports our overall compliance program through strong security controls and clear data boundaries.”

That’s the truth — and it reassures auditors and primes that you’ve done your homework.

CMMC is here to stay, and the manufacturers who get ahead of it will have a clear advantage. Machine Tracking helps you do that by giving you real-time visibility into your equipment performance without introducing any new cybersecurity exposure.

Simple. Secure. Compliant.

That’s how we believe manufacturing technology should be built.