CMMC 2.0 Onboarding and Installation for Admins

Last updated March 3, 2026

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

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 Secure Email and Vault products, you can protect CUI from unauthorized access throughout its lifecycle.

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.

Step 1 – Setting up XQ

Create an XQ account and log in to your XQ Dashboard.
Send your team ID to your XQ account representative or to support@xqmsg.com in order to be granted your software licenses.
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.
Assign your team members the required licenses for both Email and Vault.

Step 2 – Setting up Secure Email

CMMC requires FIPS-validated encryption, which limits which email clients your team can use. Follow the CMMC Email Deployment Guide to set up Secure Email.

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
Store large files and large amounts of data: Vault sets no limit on file size or total storage, and keeps encrypted files on your own storage.
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.

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

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.
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.
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.