What characterizes out-of-scope assets in CMMC assessments?

Out-of-scope assets in CMMC assessments are characterized by their lack of relation to Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) processing or storage. These assets do not handle or support activities involving CUI, which means they are excluded from the assessment process focused on protecting CUI and ensuring compliance with the CMMC framework. This classification helps streamline the assessment by allowing auditors to focus their evaluations on the systems, applications, and environments that directly manage or save CUI.

By identifying assets that do not relate to CUI, organizations can better allocate resources and attention to the areas that require compliance verification, ensuring that they are adequately protecting sensitive information as mandated by CMMC requirements.