CMMC 2.0 Onboarding and Installation for Admins

This article provides installation steps for Secure Email and Vault to help you get started.

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Overview

CMMC 2.0 (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2) is a Department of Defense (DoD) framework that applies to Defense Industrial Base (DIB) contractors. This certification aims to improve cybersecurity and ensures DIB contractors are equipped to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). XQ can help you prepare to meet CMMC requirements.

XQ’s end-to-end email encryption streamlines your preparations for CMMC. XQ’s Secure Email solutions cover NIST security requirements and uses CMMC-compliant processes to protect CUI. Using XQ Secure Email, your data is encrypted before it leaves your device and moves to the cloud, making it easier to meet data privacy and compliance obligations.

Using XQ’s Encrypted Email and Vault products, you can protect CUI from unauthorized access throughout its lifecycle.

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Onboarding resources

The XQ support team is dedicated to helping you troubleshoot issues, providing resources, and answering any questions you may have about the platform.

See How to Contact Support for more information on the types of support we offer and tips for contacting support.

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Step 1 – Setting up XQ

1. Create an XQ account and log in to your XQ Dashboard. 
2. Send your team ID to your XQ account representative or to support@xqmsg.com in order to be granted your software licenses. 
3. After logging into your XQ Dashboard, we recommend adding team members.
   1. This step and the next can also be done via an Entra (AD) Integration.
4. Assign your team members the required licenses for both Email and Vault. 

Note: An active XQ license is required for future steps (using Vault specifically), so it is recommended that you wait until they are available before proceeding further.

Step 2 – Setting up Secure Email

Installation steps differ depending on the email client you use. To meet CMMC compliance requirements, you can use Secure Email with either Outlook or Gmail.

See the CMMC Email Deployment Guide to get started.

Outlook

• Outlook users can install Secure Email using XQ’s Secure Outlook Add-In. Using the Secure Outlook Add-In, users can encrypt messages and attachments directly from their Outlook account. This installation method must be completed on each account individually.
• Outlook admins can also install XQ’s Secure Outlook Add-In for their entire Microsoft 365 Group. This installation method is suitable for integrating XQ into your whole team’s Outlook email accounts.

In order to enable the required functionality, an administrator needs to Grant admin consent for XQ Cloud Link – Azure.

Gmail

• Gmail users can install Secure Email using XQ’s Chrome Extension. With the Chrome Extension installed, users can encrypt messages and attachments directly from their Gmail accounts. This installation method must be completed on each account individually.
• Google admins can also install XQ’s Chrome Extension for their entire group. This installation method is suitable for integrating XQ into your whole team’s Gmail accounts.

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Step 3 – Deploying Vault

The XQ Vault allows you to store CUI on your own infrastructure and track who accesses it. Vault helps you meet CMMC requirements in the following ways:

• Protect each file with its own separate quantum-resistant encryption and keep it stored on your cloud
• Store your data in a desktop folder synced to the cloud
• Use XQ’s no size limit rule to store larger amounts of data at a fraction of the cost of other services
• Track and audit every interaction with your data in one place

To use Vault, you can have an administrator deploy the product broadly or have end-users download and install it themselves. Once installed, users will need to log in to the product.

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Best practices 

Here are some recommendations to enhance your data protection measures and avoid user error when using Secure Email and Vault.

Step 4 – Set up CMMC-Specific Data Policies

We recommend using our Data Loss Prevention and Data Access Policies to implement CMMC compliant business practices within the inbox of each team member.

Step 5 – Configure SharePoint/OneDrive

1. With Vault, CUI and other files can be stored securely in SharePoint and synced to each team member with OneDrive. In order to do this effectively, files need to be stored in a OneDrive Shared Library or a SharePoint Site. Personal folders work well with Vault, but cannot be synced to the devices of other team members.
2. In order to sync files from SharePoint/OneDrive to team devices, the OneDrive app must be installed. Instructions can be found here for individual deployment. Microsoft has guidance on deployment via admin control for Windows devices as well as Mac devices.
3. Once your file location is configured and the Sync App is on team devices, it is important to “Sync” this new location with the device so it is accessible on each device. This can be done by each individual or via admin control. Microsoft has guidance on this for Windows devices as well as Mac devices.