Ready for Your Annual Self-Affirmation — Without the Spreadsheet
Track all 15 basic safeguarding requirements of FAR 52.204-21 — and the 59 real assessment objectives beneath them — then generate an audit-ready CMMC Level 1 Readiness Report in minutes.
Self-assessed. No C3PAO required. Watchtower does not submit your SPRS affirmation on your behalf.
The Smallest CMMC Level — Still Legally Required
CMMC Level 1 is based on FAR 52.204-21, "Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems." It applies to any contractor whose systems process, store, or transmit Federal Contract Information (FCI) — not Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), which is Level 2's domain under NIST SP 800-171.
Level 1 is self-assessed. There is no C3PAO, no third-party assessor, and no formal certification body involved. The organization evaluates its own systems and submits an annual self-affirmation to the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS).
That simplicity is exactly why it gets overlooked — a 15-requirement checklist feels easy to eyeball and easy to get wrong.
Basic safeguarding requirements
Real assessment objectives underneath them
Control domains (AC, IA, MP, PE, SC, SI)
Self-affirmation to SPRS — no assessor visit
One Failed Objective Fails the Whole Requirement
The official CMMC Assessment Guide doesn't score a requirement as a single yes/no. Each of the 15 requirements breaks down into multiple assessment objectives — 59 in total — and a requirement is only satisfied when every one of its objectives is Met or genuinely Not Applicable. A spreadsheet checklist that tracks "15 boxes" hides that risk. Watchtower tracks the real 59.
Access Control
4 requirements
Identification & Authentication
2 requirements
Media Protection
1 requirement
Physical Protection
2 requirements
System & Communications Protection
2 requirements
System & Information Integrity
4 requirements
A Straightforward Path to Your Annual Self-Affirmation
Define the FCI Environment
Identify the systems, users, services and facilities that process, store or transmit Federal Contract Information.
Assess Each Objective
Record MET, NOT MET or NOT APPLICABLE and document the basis for each finding.
Correct Gaps
Use the readiness findings to prioritize missing safeguards, procedures and evidence.
Reassess
Update the objective findings after corrective actions are completed.
Generate the Report
Create a documented readiness record for management review before the organization completes its annual affirmation.
A Complete Assessment Record — Not Just a Checklist
Every one of the 15 requirements is broken into its real assessment objectives, grouped by domain, with the exact wording from the official CMMC Assessment Guide — so you never answer based on a shortened summary.
Structured assessment of all 15 Level 1 requirements
Objective-level review across all 59 assessment objectives
Automatic requirement status calculation
Domain-level readiness tracking
Assessment-basis documentation
Identification of unresolved gaps
Remediation tracking between assessment runs
Level 1 Readiness Report
Executive summary for management review
SPRS-readiness checklist
Sensitive Source Files Are Not Permanently Stored
Watchtower is designed to minimize unnecessary custody of customer data. Submitted logs and other source files are processed temporarily, while only structured findings, assessment records and report data are retained. Original supporting evidence remains under the customer's control.
Customers remain responsible for retaining the original evidence used to support their Level 1 findings.
A Self-Assessment Tool — Not a Certification Body
CMMC Level 1 has no certification and no C3PAO. Watchtower is a planning and evidence-organization tool that supports your organization's own self-affirmation — it does not perform that self-affirmation for you, and it does not independently verify the accuracy of what you enter.
Not a Replacement For
- Your own SPRS self-affirmation submission
- Independent verification of your answers
- Legal or assessment guidance
What Watchtower Does
- Tracks all 59 objectives, organized by requirement and domain
- Calculates requirement status automatically
- Generates a report to support your annual self-affirmation
Start Tracking Your Level 1 Requirements.
Talk to KnightHawk about adding Level 1 tracking to your account, or see current pricing for the add-on.