SQC In the News!
1Q2026 and 2Q2026
U.S. Department of War Suspends Phase 2 of CMMC
CMMC Level 2 External C3PAO Assessment Requirement to Continue with Existing NIST SP 800-171 Self-Attestation Rules
The US DoD announced on July 13th a pause/suspension of Phase 2 of the proposed CMMC regulation, which required a 3rd-party assessment performed through a C3PAO for most contracts otherwise slated to start in Nov. 2026. This pause is intended, according to the DoD, to understand the issues raised by a majority of small businesses that imposing a strict 3rd-party assessment is a bureaucratic overload and burden on many small businesses, which are hard at work providing solutions for the Government and our warfighters. With this, the existing self-certification/self-attestation requirements under NIST 800-171 for DIB companies still continue.
At SQC, we have been helping organizations in the DIB to prepare and assess where they stand, against the NIST 800-171 controls, and to ensure a secure cybersecurity posture, and implement controls that are practical and invaluable to ensure secure missions. Whether the external assessment option returns, or in what form and when, is still up to date changes/DoW strategy, implementing cybersecurity controls has become imperative not just for Defense and Aerospace companies alone, but for every company dealing with any kind of PII, or sensitive and confidential information. This is non-negotiable negotiable in today’s world, so buckle up and start planning to implement at least basic and proven safeguards for your systems.
ISACA Conference, Bangalore Chapter, July 2026
SQC was proud to be part of the ISACA Bangalore chapter’s 29th Annual conference, held in Bangalore on July 24-25th, 2026. The theme was Fortifying the AI backbone.
SQC’s CEO Kris Puthucode spoke about the using proven best practices from models such as the NIST 800-171, CMMI- AIM, select AI related ISO standard, and the SEI AI Adoption model, to build securely, in the first place so systems are rendered tough to hack. The core thesis we believe in, is that Cybersecurity is a fundamentally software quality issue. The more secure we build systems and software, the better off cyber engineers and the entire organization is, rather than trying patch existing systems that have vulnerabilities. With several leading-edge best practices already being in use since decades, such as SEI’s Secure coding guidelines, Kris spoke about all the ways we can build better software and systems, which truly aims to fortify AI solutions and AI products. Visit our Instagram page to see some photos of the event! @sqcglobals29 (Instagram)
SQC’s 25th Year of operations
We are glad to have been in business for 25 Years! And just like that, it has been a full 25 Years of SQC Global. This is no simple feat for us, or for any business for that matter. Thriving for 25 years is not just a internal milestone, we made it here because of the deep trust and faith of our tens of hundreds of customers primarily in the US, and India.
We at SQC, brough together a group of our clients and partners in Bangalore, for a event filled with amazing music, gratitude to each other, and some awesome time together. We are humbled to move ahead with more energy and enthusiasm in an ever-changing world, this time empowering our clients with AI best practices to develop the best possible AI solutions and products. Follow us on our Instagram channel for updates on our recent event.