During aCMMC assessment, organizations must provide evidence to demonstrate compliance with requiredpractices and processes. Assessors evaluate this evidence based on two key criteria:
* Adequacy- Does the evidence meet the intent of the security requirement?
* Sufficiency- Is there enough evidence to reasonably conclude that the practice/process is effectively implemented?
These principles are outlined in theCMMC Assessment Process Guide, which provides a structured approach for evaluating compliance.
Step-by-Step Breakdown:#1. Adequacy - Does the evidence fully meet the requirement?
* Adequacyrefers to whether the evidence properly demonstrates that the security practice has been implemented as required.
* Example: If an organization claims to enforceMulti-Factor Authentication (MFA), an assessor would checksystem configurations, login policies, and user authentication logsto confirm that MFA is actually in use.
#2. Sufficiency - Is there enough evidence to support the claim?
* Sufficiencymeans that there isenough supporting evidenceto prove compliance.
* Example: If an organization providesonly one screenshot of an MFA login screen, that alone may not besufficient-additional logs, policies, and user records would help strengthen the case.
* (B) Adequacy and Thoroughness#
* Thoroughnessis not a defined metric in CMMC evidence evaluation.
* The focus is onwhether the evidence meets the requirement (adequacy)and if there isenough of it (sufficiency).
* (C) Sufficiency and Thoroughness#
* Thoroughnessis not a recognized term in CMMC compliance validation.
* Evidence must beadequate and sufficient, not just thorough.
* (D) Sufficiency and Appropriateness#
* Appropriatenessis not a CMMC-defined criterion.
* Thecorrect terms used in CMMC assessmentsareAdequacy(Does it meet the requirement?) andSufficiency(Is there enough proof?).
Why the Other Answer Choices Are Incorrect:
* CMMC Assessment Process Guideexplicitly states that evidence must be evaluated based onadequacyandsufficiencyto confirm compliance with security practices.
Final Validation from CMMC Documentation: