Defining CUI Before You Spend a Dollar

About this episode

Derek White and Rachel Bassford discuss the importance of understanding Controlled Unclassified Information before making technology investments.

In this episode of the Cuick 10 Podcast , Derek White, Chief Operating Officer of Cuick Trac , is joined by Rachel Bassford, CUI Consultant at DEFCERT , to explore how organizations should approach identifying Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Rachel explains why companies often jump straight into technology decisions without fully understanding their scope—and how that leads to wasted time, unnecessary cost, and increased risk. She outlines a structured approach that starts with understanding contracts, document markings, and data flow before making any compliance investments. This episode provides practical guidance for organizations trying to answer one of the most important questions in CMMC: What do we actually need to protect?

People in this episode

Host: Derek White

Guest: Rachel Bassford

Topics covered

• Controlled Unclassified Information
• compliance
• technology decisions
• risk management
• data protection

Keywords

• CUI
• compliance investments
• data flow
• document markings
• contracts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cuick Trac, DEFCERT, CMMC