Goldbelt earns Pentagon cyber certification as Pentagon pauses its next phase

Goldbelt Inc., the Juneau-based Alaska Native corporation, said Wednesday it has achieved Level 2 of the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, a credential tied to a program the Pentagon has partly put on hold while it decides how to reshape it.

The program, known as CMMC, sets cybersecurity standards for defense contractors. Level 2 covers companies that handle Controlled Unclassified Information, government information that is sensitive but not classified. It rests on 110 security requirements from a federal standard, NIST SP 800-171, and depending on the contract can be met through a company's self-assessment or an audit by an accredited outside assessor. Goldbelt's announcement does not say which method it used.

The department began writing CMMC requirements into new contracts on Nov. 10, 2025, starting with self-assessments. A second phase, set to begin Nov. 10, 2026, would have made outside assessments a condition of many contract awards. On July 13, the department, which now also calls itself the Department of War, suspended that phase and later milestones and formed a reform task force, saying it wanted to reduce compliance costs and barriers for small, medium and non-traditional companies. Self-assessment requirements remain in force, according to the department's current guidance.

The task force drew more than 1,100 public comments, and its recommendations went to the department's chief information officer, Kirsten Davies, around Sept. 11. Davies has said the report will be made public but has not set a date, and as of early October it had not been released.

Defense work is Goldbelt's largest federal business. Contractors with Goldbelt in their names received about $255 million in Defense Department contract obligations in fiscal 2025, about two-thirds of their federal contract dollars, according to USAspending. The corporation, which represents more than 4,000 shareholders, reported $481 million in 2024 revenue on Alaska Business magazine's 2025 Top 49ers list.

Goldbelt said the certification strengthens its ability to pursue and perform federal work that requires CMMC Level 2 and the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information.