(National Harbor, MD, Sept. 28, 2022) – The Cyber AB today announced the formation of a subsidiary organization independently responsible for developing the training and certification programs for credentialed individuals working within the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) initiative. The Cybersecurity Assessor and Instructor Certification Organization, LLC—known as the “CAICO”—now assumes the existing training, examination, and certification responsibilities for CMMC professionals that had previously resided under the direct auspices of The Cyber AB itself.  These responsibilities include the oversight of formal CMMC training, CMMC high-stakes professional exams, and the certification of CMMC Assessors and Instructors.

“Creating and spinning-out the CAICO is an important milestone and reflects the increasing evolution and maturity of our organization,” said Cyber AB CEO Matthew Travis. “No mission within the Ecosystem is more critical than the training and certification of highly effective CMMC Assessors and Instructors, and the CAICO and its partners are well positioned now to execute on that independently.” 

The separation of The Cyber AB and the CAICO is a provision codified in the former’s no-cost CMMC contract with DoD and stems from the International Standards Organization (ISO) principle that accreditation bodies (i.e., The Cyber AB) must not be involved in the proficiency testing and/or certification of individuals who engage in activities under its accreditation authority (i.e., performing CMMC Assessments). As a separate legal entity, the CAICO will have a different top management team, distinctly different logos and symbols, and various mitigation mechanisms to protect the impartiality of both the accreditation and professional certification processes within CMMC.

A separate CAICO Board of Managers will provide governance and oversight to the new entity. Those Managers will be appointed by The Cyber AB Board of Directors over the coming months. Once installed, the CAICO Board of Managers will select the organization’s permanent executive director.  Melanie Kyle Gingrich, formerly The Cyber AB’s Vice President for Training and Certification, has been appointed by Travis as the CAICO’s Interim Executive Director.

“We are excited to take the CAICO forward and enhance our capabilities and offerings to the CMMC Ecosystem,” said Gingrich, who brings her existing AB staff with her to the CAICO. “We look forward to bringing innovative and dynamic content delivery methods to learners while engaging DoD and CMMC stakeholders in an ongoing collaboration about their needs.”

Other CAICO responsibilities include managing the relationships with CMMC Licensed Publishing Partners (LPPs) and Licensed Training Providers (LTPs) that are responsible for delivering and developing, respectively, the curricula and courses for CMMC formal training. The CAICO also directs the creation, validation, and administration of CMMC professional certification exams for Assessors and Instructors that will be accredited under the ISO 17024 standard by a third-party ISO accreditation body.

As a subsidiary and “disregarded entity” of The Cyber AB, the CAICO will retain the nonprofit, tax-exempt status of its parent organization.

About The Cyber AB

The CMMC Accreditation Body, Inc. (d/b/a The Cyber AB) is a private, independent, Maryland-based, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that serves as the sole official CMMC partner of the Department of Defense, via contract, for the implementation, accreditation, and oversight of the CMMC Ecosystem and its support to the Defense Industrial Base.