Cybersecurity Compliance as an Industrial Filter in the Defence Supply Chain

The institutionalization of cybersecurity requirements in defence procurement has evolved from a technical safeguard into a structural mechanism that determines who can participate in the defence industrial base. By conditioning contract eligibility on validated compliance with standards such as NIST SP 800-171 and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), U.S.

policy has transformed cyber posture into a gatekeeping variable. This shift responds to documented vulnerabilities in contractor networks and to persistent threats targeting defence-related information. However, the effect extends beyond risk mitigation.

This analysis answers: How has the institutionalization of cybersecurity requirements evolved from a technical safeguard into a structural mechanism determining who can participate in the defence industrial base? How do standards such as NIST SP 800-171 and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) condition contract eligibility and act as a gatekeeping variable? What documented vulnerabilities in contractor networks and persistent threats does this compliance regime respond to? How does cyber compliance function as an industrial filter beyond risk mitigation, and who does it exclude from the defence supply chain?