CUI and CMMC, Why Do They Matter?

Information is both an asset and a target in today's defense landscape. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), from technical schematics to logistics data, may not be ‘classified’, but its exposure can have serious national security consequences. That’s why the U.S. Department of Defense mandates strict protection of CUI through the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, defense contractors must demonstrate not only awareness but also active, auditable control over sensitive data to remain eligible for contracts.

CMMC 2.0 raises the bar by requiring organisations to prove their cybersecurity maturity through measurable practices, from basic hygiene to advanced threat response. But this isn’t just about ticking compliance boxes; it’s about building trust in a global defense ecosystem. For organizations in the supply chain, the ability to secure CUI is becoming a competitive differentiator. And with the right approach, compliance can evolve from a burden into a strategic advantage. So how do you get there? That’s where automation, AI, and smarter governance come in.

The Hidden Information Risks

For many organisations, the path to mandatory CMMC compliance is obstructed not just by complexity, but by a fundamental flaw: the inability to accurately identify and label Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Sensitive data is often buried in legacy systems, scattered across cloud platforms, or mislabelled (or not labelled at all) leaving it vulnerable to misuse or exposure. Manual classification processes, while well-intentioned, are inconsistent and error-prone, especially at scale. This lack of visibility and control creates a dangerous blind spot, making it nearly impossible to prove compliance or respond confidently to audits.

The UK Ministry of Defence faced this exact challenge when a spreadsheet containing personal details of nearly 19,000 Afghan nationals was mistakenly sent outside secure channels: a catastrophic outcome caused by human error and misclassification. In 2025, the MoD turned to Castlepoint’s explainable AI to automate data labelling and ensure sensitive information is correctly marked from the moment it’s created. This kind of proactive, transparent classification is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a critical safeguard against reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and national security risks.

The Automation Imperative

When you can’t see your sensitive data, you can’t protect it. Manual classification is slow, inconsistent, and prone to human error, especially across sprawling, hybrid environments. This lack of visibility creates dangerous blind spots, leaving critical data exposed and compliance out of reach.

Castlepoint solves this at the source. Our explainable AI automatically scans every system, evaluating documents where they live. It reads and classifies records based on their full content. It shows the recommended label, with a transparent evidence trail of the reason for the marking. Castlepoint can then push the correct label to Purview, triggering your DLP controls.

• Achieve Accurate Classification: Explainable AI can automatically find, read, and classify every piece of CUI based on its content and context, eliminating human error and ensuring consistent labelling.
• Enforce Consistent Controls: Once data is correctly identified, XAI can apply and enforce the right security policies, like access restrictions and encryption, to records across every single system.
• Deliver Verifiable Compliance: With a permanent, unalterable audit trail of every data interaction, organisations can provide defensible proof of compliance to auditors and partners on demand.

Castlepoint’s AI-Driven Approach to Data Governance

Castlepoint delivers this automation at scale, connecting to every data source without migration or duplication to provide a single, authoritative view of your information assets.  

The platform enables visibility across even the most complex environments, applying controls aligned to standards such as CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, and ISO 27001. Castlepoint also automates retention and disposal in line with sensitivity and regulatory requirements, ensuring that CUI is retained only as long as necessary and securely deleted when no longer needed.

These capabilities are already delivering measurable outcomes for global defense partners, showing how AI-driven governance can meet even the most stringent compliance expectations:

• The UK Ministry of Defense has adopted Castlepoint to enable AI-powered data control, demonstrating real-world application of automated governance in a regulated defense setting.
• Castlepoint’s integration with Microsoft Purview extends compliance capabilities, maintaining visibility, interoperability and control in real time across fragmented hybrid and cloud systems.

Building a Resilient and Defensible Operation

For defense suppliers, effective CUI management is not just a compliance exercise, it’s a strategic requirement. Investing in automated governance minimises risk exposure, allowing you to accelerate audit readiness and build confidence with prime contractors and government partners.  

Transparency into where sensitive data resides, how it is being used, and who has accessed it within your systems, allows defense suppliers to prove compliance and demonstrate operational maturity with confidence.

Your Path to CUI Readiness

The journey to CMMC compliance is a mandate, not an option. For any organisation working within the U.S. defense supply chain, achieving compliance is now a contractual requirement under DoD regulations. With the right systems in place, the process can shift from a complex administrative task to a strategic advantage.

Castlepoint’s AI-driven governance platform provides a proven path to achieving this, enabling the DIB to manage sensitive information securely, efficiently and transparently, in full alignment with CMMC and broader cybersecurity expectations.

Move beyond manual controls. See how Castlepoint delivers automated CUI governance aligned to CMMC requirements. Get in touch today.

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