Boosting Your ITAR Compliance Efforts With Cleared Systems

As a defense manufacturer, ensuring your data practices align with the ITAR mandate is essential from a consequence and security standpoint. You don’t want to compromise the technical data but should do anything to ensure you don’t face hefty fines or lose business because of non-compliance. Cleared Systems is among the top cybersecurity companies in the US and can be of great help in this endeavour in the following ways:

Registering with DDTC

Cleared Systems offers comprehensive support for companies needing assistance with registration and licensing. With a deep understanding of the intricate requirements set by the DDTC, these export control professionals can guide you through the entire ITAR registration process, ensuring compliance with all regulatory standards. Their expertise extends to the application and management of ITAR licenses, helping companies navigate the complexities of export control regulations efficiently.

By leveraging their specialized knowledge and experience, organizations can streamline their compliance efforts, mitigate risks, and focus on their core operations. Whether it’s initial registration or maintaining ongoing compliance, Cleared Systems provides the necessary tools and support to meet all ITAR obligations, making them an invaluable partner in managing export control requirements.

Creating Data Security and Compliance Policy

Manufacturers must create a robust data security and compliance policy that protects ITAR data. This policy forms the basis of all your compliance efforts. ITAR-controlled technical data must be handled in a very particular manner specified in the regulations, and cybersecurity companies play a pivotal role in ensuring it remains safe. With the help of cybersecurity professionals, manufacturers can create a tailored data security and compliance policy specific to the compliance requirements. They can also help defense manufacturers update their cybersecurity and data handling policies to remain current with the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

Deploying Data Classification  Solutions

Data classification and categorization are critical under ITAR. Identifying what data is subject to ITAR is the first step in categorizing it. Cybersecurity companies can help set up intelligent solutions that automatically classify and categorize ITAR data and apply the proper labels. This step is critical as subsequent operations to secure technical data and depends on how best the data was classified. Cleared Systems can install and configure solutions such as Azure Information Protection Labels and Titus in your information systems to help with your data classification efforts. They can customize these solutions to your organization’s needs and educate your employees on the proper use of each.

Setting up Robust Access Controls

As mentioned above, these regulations governs the export of defense-related articles and services, including technical data. Technical data under ITAR includes information required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance, or modification of defense articles. With technical data, export can happen when ITAR-controlled technical data is released to a foreign person within the US. This is known as a deemed export. Cleared Systems can help defense manufacturers implement access control measures that prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing such information. Being a top cybersecurity company, they can set up any access control to ensure your ITAR-controlled data remains secure and can only be accessed with proper authorization.

Setting up Encryption Modules

One of the most effective tools for ensuring compliance with ITAR is robust encryption. By scrambling ITAR-controlled technical data, encryption renders it unreadable to anyone without the proper decryption key, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access and potential breaches. Section 120.54 of ITAR specifies the encryption requirements, emphasizing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in paragraph (a)(5). E2EE ensures that data remains encrypted from the sender’s system to the recipient’s, eliminating exposure risks during transmission or intermediary storage.

ITAR mandates that encryption modules comply with the FIPS 140-2 established by the NIST. FIPS 140-2 sets rigorous benchmarks for cryptographic modules, evaluating encryption algorithms, key management, and overall module security. Cybersecurity companies provide essential expertise in selecting and implementing ITAR-compliant solutions, configuring secure file transfer protocols, and offering ongoing security assessments and training. Partnering with a reputable cybersecurity company like Cleared Systems can help your organization handle ITAR-controlled data, mitigate breach risks, and demonstrate responsible management of defense technology.

Instituting Measures to Prevent Data Leakage

Data Leakage refers to the intentional or unintentional loss of data. It becomes impossible to protect whenever your data is exposed to unauthorized parties. Thus, it is imperative to have a strategy in place to prevent data leakage. Although defense manufacturers must maintain a continual and uninterrupted data flow across their organization, subcontractors, and clients, they must also think about the best ways to protect data. This is where cybersecurity companies come in.

Data leakage can result from either of the below three items. Cybersecurity professionals are best suited to identify and craft measures to mitigate these potential threats. Data leaks can come from:

– Mistakes from innocent employees.

– Malicious actors like hackers, enemy states, and unfair competitors.

– Employees with malicious intent

After identifying these threats, cybersecurity companies can help defense manufacturers take measures to prevent access to ITAR-controlled data. For instance, Cleared Systems can implement data loss prevention (DLP) solutions to prevent the unauthorized transfer of organizational data.

Creating Secure ITAR Enclaves

ITAR enclaves are essential in protecting ITAR-controlled technical data. But what are ITAR enclaves? They are highly secure, isolated segments of an organization’s IT infrastructure designed to store, process, and manage ITAR data. The primary purpose of an ITAR enclave is to ensure that ITAR-controlled data is protected from unauthorized access, especially from foreign nationals or entities, thereby maintaining compliance with stringent U.S. export control laws. Cybersecurity companies bring expertise in designing and implementing isolated network segments that meet stringent ITAR requirements.

Creating these secure enclaves ensures that ITAR-controlled information remains segregated from general corporate networks, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access or accidental exposure. Engage top cybersecurity companies like Cleared Systems for the deployment of advanced technologies such as next-generation firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and robust access controls to fortify these enclaves. They also implement encrypted communication channels, secure file transfer protocols, and comprehensive logging and monitoring systems within the enclave.