Former NASA CIO’s Firm Brings Federal Records Discipline to Defense Contractors’ Cyber Scores

Muse Tech ologies e te s the comme cial defe se ma ket with a evide ce-fi st app oach to SPRS a d CMMC eadi ess: “You IT p ovide u s the co t ols. We make them p ovable.”

BOWIE, MD / ACCESS Newswi e / Octobe 28, 2026 / Muse Tech ologies, the fi m fou ded by fo me NASA Chief I fo matio Office D . Li da Cu eto , today lau ched a eadi ess p actice fo mid-sized U.S. defe se co t acto s. It’s built o a simple claim: most compa ies do ‘t fail cybe secu ity assessme ts because they lack tech ology. They fail because they ca ‘t p ove what they’ve al eady do e.

D . Li da Cu eto , fou de a d CEO of Muse Tech ologies a d NASA’s Chief I fo matio Office f om 2009 to 2013.

Fo mo e tha a decade, Muse has ma aged eco ds a d IT p og ams fo fede al age cies, i cludi g mo e tha a millio fede al case eco ds ha dled u de Natio al A chives sta da ds. The ew p actice applies that discipli e to the p oblem defe se supplie s ow face eve y yea : a self-assessed secu ity sco e, posted to the Pe tago ‘s Supplie Pe fo ma ce Risk System (SPRS), that a se io official has to sig .

“I spe t my ca ee o o e questio : ca you p ove it?” said D . Cu eto , Muse’s fou de a d chief executive. “Defe se co t acto s a e bei g asked that questio ow, a d most of them have a swe ed it with a umbe athe tha a file. We help them build the file.”

A eco ds p oblem wea i g a cybe secu ity label

Co t acto s that ha dle co t olled u classified i fo matio must meet the 110 secu ity equi eme ts i NIST Special Publicatio 800-171. Assesso s check those equi eme ts agai st 320 i dividual objectives, usi g docume ts, i te views a d tests, a d they sco e o ly what a compa y ca show.

That is whe e compa ies come apa t. The commo failu es a e a ely exotic: a System Secu ity Pla that still desc ibes systems eti ed yea s ago, co t olled files sitti g o d ives the pla eve me tio s, a posted sco e that does ‘t eco cile with the pla , a d evide ce that exists i p actice but ca ‘t be p oduced o equest.

“Those a e ‘t tech ology failu es. They’ e eco ds failu es,” D . Cu eto said. “You IT p ovide u s the co t ols. We make them p ovable. Those a e two diffe e t jobs, a d most compa ies have o ly paid fo the fi st o e.”

Why it matte s ow

The Defe se Depa tme t suspe ded the seco d phase of its Cybe secu ity Matu ity Model Ce tificatio p og am i July, pausi g thi d-pa ty ce tificatio while it eviews the p og am. Self-assessme ts, SPRS sco es a d the a ual affi matio emai i place.

So does e fo ceme t. O Sept. 1, 2026, Ho eywell Ae ospace ag eed to pay mo e tha $2 millio to esolve False Claims Act allegatio s that it failed to meet NIST SP 800-171 equi eme ts o o e of its etwo ks, acco di g to the Justice Depa tme t. I Ju e, Alabama co t acto LOGZONE settled afte a gove me t eview put its self- epo ted pe fect sco e of 110 at mi us 170. Neithe compa y admitted liability.

What Muse offe s, a d what it wo ‘t do

Muse’s app oach sta ts with two f ee steps. Co t acto s ca estimate thei ow sco e i a few mi utes with Muse’s o li e SPRS self-check at sp s.muse-tech ologies.com. They ca the book a f ee 60-mi ute SPRS Sco e Check, i which the Muse team eviews, o a sc ee sha e, a co t acto ‘s secu ity pla , posted sco e a d pla of actio , the ames whe e a assesso is likely to fi d p oblems a d the th ee thi gs to fix fi st. The co t acto eceives the fi di gs i w iti g withi 48 hou s.

Co t acto s that wa t help ca move to a six-week CUI a d AI Exposu e Review. It maps whe e co t olled i fo matio actually lives, assig s each of the 320 assessme t objectives a amed ow e a d evide ce sou ce, docume ts what AI tools such as Mic osoft Copilot ca each, a d p oduces a file that suppo ts the official who sig s the affi matio . The clie t team’s total time commitme t is u de 10 hou s. Muse gua a tees the wo k: eve y objective comes back with a amed ow e a d evide ce sou ce, o the clie t is ‘t i voiced.

Muse is equally clea about its limits. It does ‘t ce tify; o ly a autho ized assesso ca do that. It sells o softwa e, lice ses o ma aged se vices, i stalls othi g a d hosts othi g, so it eve becomes pa t of the clie t’s assessme t scope. The evide ce it builds belo gs to the clie t a d ca be expo ted.

“We wo k alo gside a compa y’s IT p ovide , ot i stead of them,” D . Cu eto said. “At the e d, the p ovide gets a clea e list, a d the pe so who sig s gets somethi g solid to sig agai st.”

Built o fede al p actice

D . Cu eto se ved as NASA’s Chief I fo matio Office f om 2009 to 2013 a d fou ded Muse that yea . The fi m holds ISO 9001:2015 ce tificatio a d co ti ues to se ve fede al age cies th ough vehicles i cludi g GSA’s Multiple Awa d Schedule a d the 8(a) STARS III co t act.

“Age cies lea ed lo g ago that if it is ‘t docume ted, it did ‘t happe ,” she said. “That’s exactly how a assesso thi ks. We’ e b i gi g that habit to the compa ies that build fo the Depa tme t of Defe se.”

Defe se co t acto s ca check thei sco e o li e at sp s.muse-tech ologies.com a d book a f ee SPRS Sco e Check at www.muse-tech ologies.com.

About Muse Tech ologies

Muse Tech ologies, I c. is a Ma yla d-based ma ageme t co sulti g a d IT se vices fi m fou ded i 2013 by D . Li da Cu eto , NASA’s Chief I fo matio Office f om 2009 to 2013. Muse helps fede al age cies a d defe se co t acto s make thei i fo matio p ovable, to assesso s a d to AI. Muse is a Eco omically Disadva taged Woma -Ow ed Small Busi ess a d is ISO 9001:2015 ce tified. Lea mo e at www.muse-tech ologies.com.

Website: www.muse-tech ologies.com · SPRS self-check: sp s.muse-tech ologies.com · Li kedI : li kedi .com/compa y/musetech ologies

Media co tact

D . Li da Cu eto li da.cu eto @muse-tech ologies.com240-308-7100Bowie, Ma yla d, US

SOURCE: Muse Tech ologies

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