CMMC Level 2 Certifications

Defense Unicorns Crushes CMMC Level 2 Certification with Zero POA&Ms Operating The Way They Preserve Speed, Delivery, and Mission Impact
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Today, Defense Unicorns, a veteran-owned defense tech startup focused on making software a strategic deterrent, announced it has earned final CMMC Level 2 certification, with zero Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms). This milestone authorizes the company to manage Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) under 32 CFR and prepares it for forthcoming 48 CFR enforcement. More significantly, it demonstrates Defense Unicorns’ commitment to protecting the nation by securing mission-critical data and ensuring secure operations across all mission environments.

“Achieving our certification with modern tools and a good unicorn experience is massive and puts us at the forefront of defense companies,” said Jeff McCoy, CTO of Defense Unicorns. “There have only been about 130 CMMC assessments across the DIB this year, and they have a 50 percent pass rate. The DoD estimates there are 76,000 companies that need to attain CMMC, and many 3PAOs are booked for a year. Getting certified today isn’t just practical, it’s essential for mission success.”

CMMC Level 2 is poised to become the baseline for thousands of defense contractors handling sensitive data. With certification capacity constrained and enforcement deadlines fast approaching, Defense Unicorns’ early achievement underscores a mission-first ethos—embedding robust cybersecurity now so critical software can deploy without delay when warfighters need it most.

Security by Design, Not as an Afterthought

Defense Unicorns treated CMMC as a strategic investment in mission assurance rather than a compliance hurdle. From day one, the company built a security framework tailored to real-world DoD environments by integrating continuous monitoring, strict access controls, and human-factor safeguards. This ensures that secure software delivery happens seamlessly, without sacrificing speed or operational impact.

“At Defense Unicorns, security isn’t something we bolt on at the end,” said Alexis Gerst, Lead of Security Vanguard at Defense Unicorns. “It’s woven into everything we do. We don’t just meet cybersecurity standards; we operationalize them in a way that preserves speed, delivery, and mission impact.”

Built for Partnership and Compliance Flow-Down

As CMMC requirements begin to cascade through the supply chain, Defense Unicorns’ certified posture and secure-by-design UDS platform make it a reliable partner for any program handling CUI. Early certification demonstrates both operational maturity and alignment with evolving DoD cybersecurity expectations, ensuring mission-critical collaboration moves forward without compromise.

To learn how Defense Unicorns and UDS can safeguard your mission data, contact us at hello@defenseunicorns.com.

About Defense Unicorns
Defense Unicorns is a veteran-owned defense tech startup founded in 2021 to make software a strategic deterrent for the U.S. Department of Defense. We build innovative technical solutions to securely develop and deploy mission software across cloud, on-premises, and tactical edge environments. Defense Unicorns is trusted by the most critical systems in the world, including the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, and Space Force.

For more information, visit www.defenseunicorns.com

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Defense Unicorns Crushes CMMC Level 2 Certification with Zero Findings

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