Aethon Security Launches Aethon Guide™ to Break the CMMC Cost Barrier for Small and Mid-Sized Defense Contractors

Aethon Guide helps small and mid-sized defense contractors accelerate CMMC Level 2 readiness while reducing cost, complexity, and risk.

LEESBURG, VA, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Aethon Security today announced Aethon Guide™, a managed cybersecurity and compliance solution designed to help small and medium-sized businesses within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) achieve and sustain CMMC Level 2 readiness faster, more affordably, and with less risk. For many defense contractors, compliance has become expensive, complex, and difficult to maintain. Aethon Guide was built to change that.

Built on Aethon Security’s Concierge Compliance™ approach, Aethon Guide combines managed IT, cybersecurity, secure collaboration, and compliance automation into a tailored, client-owned information security program aligned to each organization’s unique business requirements. Designed to accelerate readiness while reducing cost and risk, Aethon Guide provides a faster, simpler path to achieving and sustaining DFARS 252.204-7012 and NIST SP 800-171 compliance. The result is fast, affordable compliance delivered with confidence.

Aethon Guide includes gap remediation, implementation of the NIST SP 800-171 technical controls required for CMMC Level 2 certification, and an assessment-ready documentation package that includes required policies and procedures, a System Security Plan, and an Incident Response Plan tailored to help customers prepare for assessment and sustain compliance over time.

“America’s defense supply chain depends on innovative small and mid-sized businesses, yet many struggle with the cost and complexity of compliance,” said Derek Kernus, CEO of Aethon Security. “Aethon Guide was designed to provide a practical path to CMMC readiness that organizations can deploy quickly, affordably, and sustainably. By combining proven technologies, CMMC Certified Assessor-informed expertise, and concierge-level service, we’re helping defense contractors meet security requirements without creating barriers to innovation.”

Aethon Guide supports organizations using PreVeil with Microsoft Commercial and also supports Microsoft GCC & GCC High deployments for manufacturers and other organizations whose CUI boundary includes engineering systems, manufacturing systems, or other workloads requiring a hybrid architecture.

To streamline implementation and reduce deployment timelines, Aethon Guide leverages of combination of carefully selected third-party technologies, including AvePoint (https://www.avepoint.com/) and IntelliGRC (https://intelligrc.com/), with internally developed automation to rapidly establish environments designed to meet the requirements of DFARS 252.204-7012.

Aethon Guide uses AvePoint Baseline Management to automate Microsoft 365 GCC & GCC High configuration management, policy enforcement, and continuous compliance validation. Automated baseline management reduces administrative effort, improves consistency, and lowers the cost of operating secure environments.

“Aethon Security’s approach demonstrates how automation and governance can work together to simplify compliance for organizations across the Defense Industrial Base,” said Scott Sacket, SVP, Global Partner Strategy, AvePoint. “With Baseline Management, as part of AvePoint Elements, Aethon is helping customers maintain consistent security controls, reduce administrative overhead, and improve readiness for evolving compliance requirements.”

Aethon Guide also leverages IntelliGRC to automate compliance workflows, centralize evidence management, and maintain continuous audit readiness. The platform helps customers reduce manual effort, accelerate onboarding, and maintain compliance with greater efficiency and confidence.

“Compliance should not require organizations to choose between security and affordability,” said IntelliGRC Founder and CEO Ozzie Saeed. “Aethon Security’s integration of IntelliGRC demonstrates how automation, continuous monitoring, and structured compliance management can help defense contractors accelerate readiness, reduce administrative burden, and maintain audit readiness with greater confidence.”

Through its integration of PreVeil (https://www.preveil.com/), Aethon Guide enables secure CUI collaboration without the cost, disruption, and complexity often associated with traditional compliance architectures. Organizations can preserve existing investments in Microsoft 365 Commercial while adding encrypted email and file-sharing capabilities designed to support CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 requirements.

“Affordable compliance removes an entry barrier for innovative small businesses to join the DIB and enables SMBs currently operating in the DIB to maintain contract eligibility,” said PreVeil’s VP of Marketing Seth Steinman. “That’s why we’re proud to power the CUI protection inside Aethon Guide. More than 3,000 organizations already use PreVeil’s end-to-end encrypted email and file sharing as a low-cost, high-security path to CMMC.”

Together, these technologies enable Aethon Guide to deliver automated security configuration, continuous compliance management, and secure CUI collaboration in a single managed service designed specifically for defense contractors.

Aethon Guide is available now. Pricing starts at $22,500 for small businesses. For more information about Aethon Guide and Aethon Security’s Concierge Compliance™ services, contact Aethon Security.

About Aethon Security
Aethon Security is a CMMC Level 2-certified Managed IT and Security Service Provider (MSP/MSSP) delivering concierge-level compliance services that enable U.S. defense contractors and companies in the Defense Industrial Base to achieve and sustain CMMC certification with clarity and confidence. Our solutions are tailored to our clients, but always client owned. Our managed security and compliance solutions are backed by assessor-led expertise, delivering assessment readiness fast and affordable, while removing the complexity and operational burden of compliance for SMBs. We deliver the personalized service, simplicity, and affordability smaller organizations need and the capabilities, scalability, and flexibility for enterprise-scale security and compliance programs, allowing our clients to focus on running their business and winning new work.

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Copyright © 2026 Aethon Security. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. To the best of our knowledge, all details were correct at the time of publishing; this information is subject to change without notice.

Stuart Itkin
Aethon Security
+1 603-892-0538
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