The Cyber Operational Readiness Assessment (CORA) is the hot topic within the Department of War (DoW) cybersecurity community. Unlike its predecessor, the Command Cyber Readiness Inspection (CCRI), the CORA is a dynamic examination of a site’s network worthiness, assessing not only the organization’s technical posture, but their cyber governance.

In addition to the “baseline” assessment components, Department of Defense Cyber Defense Command (DCDC) seeks to keep the CORA current with the latest cyber threats by periodically swapping out key cyber directives. As if this were not enough, no/short notice (less than 30 days) inspections add to the stress of being on the receiving end of a CORA.

Thus, IT departments and cyber professionals should always be prepared and at-the-ready for an impromptu inspection.

What Is A CORA?

The CORA program attempts to measure cyber operational readiness against compliance standards and is broken into two components, each worth 50% of the score:

• Orders, Directives, and Policies (ODPs): evaluates the governance of the environment through documentation review to demonstrate leadership intent and to ensure process and procedure sustainability. Artifacts are reviewed to demonstrate adherence to both DoW and federal guidance.
• Cyber Maintenance reviews Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG)/Security Requirements Guide (SRG)-compliance.
• Key Indicators of Risk (KIORs) are critical findings within the ODP and Cyber Maintenance reviews which negatively impact the CORA score.

The SecureStrux Mock CORA

SecureStrux has developed our Mock CORA to mimic the most critical review an organization might expect to receive from a CORA team. We don’t just look at the letter of the inspection point, but the intent behind it. We are uniquely positioned to provide this service by having subject matter experts, many of whom have 20+ years of experience as Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) reviewers and team leads, so we understand the mindset of the CORA teams.

While the Mock CORA provides a dry run of the CORA process and sheds light on the uncertainty of KIOR identification, our team is also there to provide guidance and assistance on closing findings.

In final preparation for your CORA visit and beyond, our Embedded Defense Package (EDP) provides an agile way to tackle findings that are too complex to fully resolve during the Mock CORA. It also offers “Game Day” support during your assessment and ongoing cyber-operational assistance, ensuring your organization stays ready… even for no-notice inspections.

The SecureStrux CORA Difference

At SecureStrux®, we view cyber operational readiness as a mission-critical capability. Our team of experts has extensive experience conducting CORA engagements across the defense services, agencies and commercial environments. Using proven assessment methodologies and operational insight, we help clients move from mere compliance-driven security to mission-ready resilience.

A SecureStrux Mock CORA can help greatly reduce the stress and uncertainty of a CORA. Contact us today to learn more.