Hive Systems

The 2026 Password Table is here. This year's rig is a fleet of two rented 8x RTX 5090 hosts, which made cracking about 24% faster than last year. AI made the rig easier to build but still can't crack bcrypt. Length wins. Download your copy at buff.ly/035RwNq

Our on-demand CMMC Training for the DIB covers the full path: CMMC Basics, Environment Types, Scoping, the Assessment Process, and Conducting Assessments. Five domains, 19 lessons, self-paced, taught by our C3PAO assessors. Learn more: buff.ly/o7zDoL8

Pick three statements from your SSP and try to prove each one with real artifacts. That’s the 15-minute self-test in our latest ACT post, and it shows quickly whether “we have a policy for that” holds up.

"URGENT, need this today." The pressure is the tactic. Scammers count on you moving too fast to notice the fake CEO asking for gift card codes. Slow down, check the sender, think twice before clicking, and report anything that feels off.

Even the best password can get stolen. That's what multi-factor authentication is for: with MFA on, a stolen password alone isn't enough to get in. Turn it on everywhere, especially email, banking, and work accounts.

"Password123" doesn't need a clever hacker, weak and reused passwords do the heavy lifting. Make every password long, unique to each account, and stored in a password manager.

For the third year, we're in the running for the Richmond BizSense RVA 25, one of 49 contenders out of 100+ applicants for Richmond's fastest-growing companies. Thank you to Richmond BizSense, and good luck to everyone on the list.

Our on-demand CMMC Training for the Defense Industrial Base is here: 5 domains, 19 lessons, completely virtual and self-paced. Learn how to approach, build, and assess to the CMMC standards. Learn more: buff.ly/bTWJAFV

Katie Dodson, President of Hive Systems Defense Solutions, had a busy few days at CMMC Midwest. She joined an "Ask the Assessor" panel and led her own session on CMMC horror stories and how to avoid being in one. Thanks to everyone who came out and stopped by our happy hour.

We're now BIMI certified. Our logo now shows up next to every email we send, so you can confirm it's really from Hive Systems before you open it. A small, visible trust signal in an inbox full of impersonation attempts.

🎉 It's cybersecurity awareness month! Stay tuned for all our great content, guides, and tips to keep you, your family, and your work secure.

Find your weaknesses before someone else does. Our expert-led penetration testing simulates attacker behavior, uncovers exploitable vulnerabilities, and prioritizes fixes based on risk, not noise.

We helped Hitting Cancer Below the Belt strengthen their security with clear education and reliable support, so their team can stay focused on their mission - not their inbox.

A new DFARS class deviation is going around, and it's easy to misread as CMMC enforcement getting pushed to 2028. It wasn't. We walk through what Revision 3 actually changed.

Good cybersecurity shouldn't be locked behind a paywall. Our resource library is built by our experts and free for everyone - templates, tools, podcasts, and expert-led learning. Built by experts, free for you: www.hivesystems.com/guides

AI models running security tests escaped their sandboxes and broke into real organizations that never agreed to be tested. Nobody told them to - they just chased their goal past a gap in the setup. Giving an AI a goal isn't the same as giving it judgment. Read more: buff.ly/LMu6ZS8

Phishing and spoofing emails were slowing down the Legal Aid Justice Center's team, so we built a tailored simulation and training program to help staff spot the fakes. As IT Director Chris Florez put it: "I always learned something from working with Hive Systems."

Knowing your provider covers some of your CMMC controls is one thing. Sorting what you inherit is another. Our free crosswalk maps all 110 CMMC Level 2 requirements to the exact Rev. 5 controls your provider uses, so you can check what's inherited and what's still on you.

Your cloud provider covers a big share of your CMMC controls. Proving which ones is how you inherit them instead of redoing the work. Our free crosswalk maps all 110 CMMC Level 2 requirements to the exact 800-53 Rev. 5 controls your provider's CRM uses.

Med'EqualiTeam provides free medical support to those who need it most. Through Hive Helps, we helped them fortify their systems, strengthen their data protection, and train their teams, so they can focus entirely on their mission.

Stopping a hacker is only half of incident response. The other half is figuring out what happened - and anti-forensics tries to take that away. The fix isn't making everyone a forensics expert. It's logging, backups, and reporting early. buff.ly/Yd9zyFk

Vulnerabilities don't need to be zero-days to cause damage. Most incidents come from known issues - missed patches, misconfigurations, exposed systems. We bring modern scanning and expert interpretation to find and fix them before they become liabilities.

Starts in three days. Self-assessment means you're the assessor now - same 110 controls, same scoring, you just run it. Our live CMMC training runs August 24 to 28. Close your gaps before you self-attest.

NIST 800-171 Rev 2 still governs your CMMC assessment today, but the DoW says Rev 3 is next. It reorganizes into 97 controls across 17 families, adds three new families, and expands assessment objectives 32%. Don't jump to Rev 3 yet - but don't wait to prepare either. Here's what changes.

CMMC Phase 2 is paused. Your DFARS obligations aren't. Katie Dodson - 40 assessments done, C3PAO advisory council chair - breaks down what the pause really means for defense contractors. Premieres today, 10 AM ET. buff.ly/yUGMMdp

Learn CMMC self-assessment from the assessors themselves. Our live training for the DIB runs August 24 to 28, led by the team that runs the assessments and gets defense contractors ready to pass.

CMMC training built for the people who own the work. Live, virtual sessions led by our C3PAO assessors, the team that runs assessments and gets defense contractors ready to pass. August 24 to 28. Meet NIST SP 800-171 and close your gaps before you self-attest.

You launched fast. Now make sure it's secure. We manually review your web app and APIs for the vulnerabilities that matter - authentication flaws, access control issues, injection and input handling, and the business logic flaws scanners miss.

CMMC self-assessment, taught by the people who assess for a living. Live, virtual sessions August 24 to 28, led by our C3PAO experts. Same controls, same scoring, run by you. Register: buff.ly/s5HROaR

Got a package you never ordered? No invoice, no charge, no return address? That's a brushing scam. Sellers ship cheap items to real names and addresses to post fake reviews under your name. The box is harmless, but it means your info has leaked. Here's what to do next: buff.ly/3Aj64eg

A few weeks into the CMMC pause, DoD has shared five reasons behind the 60-day review. Some are real flaws worth fixing. None of them erase your obligations. DFARS 7012 still applies. Here's the C3PAO breakdown: buff.ly/UZ2XRJD

Our 2026 Password Table breakdown drops tomorrow at 10 AM ET on Hive Live. How long does it really take to crack a password this year? And why can a long, simple one beat a short, complex one? Watch tomorrow. buff.ly/DKMyy45

Phishing still works because it stopped looking suspicious. Now it looks like a normal invoice, a shared doc, a password reset from a tool you use. The fix isn't perfect employees - it's making verification and reporting feel normal too. Read more at buff.ly/gi1ZpOn

The CMMC pause has revived a myth: that C3PAOs inflate assessment fees. As a C3PAO, we'll say it plainly - that $45,000 week is a DoD mandate, not a markup. Three credentialed pros, niche certs, real overhead. And the pause changes nothing about your DFARS obligations.

FortiBleed exposed admin credentials for up to 86,000 Fortinet firewalls. No zero-day, no clever exploit - just weak passwords, legacy encryption, and open ports. The attackers didn't beat security. They found people skipping the basics. Here's what happened and what to do next: buff.ly/4kjDzAp

Passion, in practice: founded in 2018 by two Virginia Tech grads on the motto "Ut Prosim" - that I may serve. We didn't start this to check boxes. We started it because security should be achievable for everyone.

Equity, in practice: through Hive Helps we give pro bono security support to nonprofits and our Richmond community. Over a half dozen organizations helped so far. A safer digital world should be for everyone.

Our 2026 Password Table dropped Tuesday, and the top question back was about the trend. Here it is: 2024 to 2026 on the same passwords, crack times falling ~23% a year. You didn't change your password, the hardware got faster, so it's length that keeps you ahead!

"CMMC Phase II suspended" is not "CMMC is gone." Phase I self-assessments still apply. DFARS 252.204-7012 still binds you. The government can still assess you, and the False Claims Act exposure holds with no breach required. Here's what's still in force and how to set your strategy buff.ly/liTZPSe

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Precision, in practice: customized risk-reduction plans built on a real understanding of your business. The same standard powers the products we build - Derive and Audora.

One week out. Our updated Password Table is almost here. How long would it take an attacker to brute force your password in 2026? The full breakdown drops in 7 days and spoiler: length still wins.

Trust, in practice: we translate cybersecurity into plain language so you understand every recommendation, and build a real partnership around what makes your organization unique. No jargon, no guesswork.

Being tech-ready for CMMC is only half the battle. Weak documentation is one of the top reasons assessments go sideways - and it's more fixable than you think.

Passion. Equality. Precision. Trust. Four values, every service, every time. See what we're about at buff.ly/eaZxjNr

Nonprofits - our Hive Helps pro bono consulting application closes June 30. Real cybersecurity support, no cost. Apply at buff.ly/8AIaplQ

Printing might be the most underestimated risk in a CMMC Level 2 assessment. Paper CUI brings new physical controls, chain-of-custody tracking, encrypted print jobs, expanded network scope, and strict destruction rules. Our latest ACT post breaks it down. buff.ly/d7gDShq

It’s World Password Day. Our 2026 Password Table update is almost here. Every year the gap between weak and strong passwords gets wider. Stay tuned here for the release!

AI is speeding up vulnerability discovery, but hackers are speeding up exploitation. And now that gap is getting smaller fast. What does that mean for security teams? Our experts share their thoughts. buff.ly/qQ5q3Er