Compliance advisory & cybersecurity — nuclear technology startups
Brilliant engineering shouldn't stall on a compliance gap nobody saw coming.
Build regulatory compliance and cybersecurity foundations that can stand up to DOE, NRC, SEC, CMMC, investor, partner, customer, and future audit scrutiny — before a gap becomes a delayed license, a lost program, or a failed review.
When should we start?
Often before funding, contracts, or licensing say so
What could apply?
DOE · NRC · SEC · CMMC · export control
How does Stillwater help?
Determine, prioritize, then build
Do you need this yet?
You probably need help sooner than you think.
You don’t need to be licensed for this to matter. It’s worth a conversation if any of the following is true:
Pursuing DOE, DoD, or other federal funding
Preparing to handle FCI, CUI, UCNI, or export-controlled data
Entering a national lab, university, or utility partnership
Pursuing a federal or defense-related contract
Received a customer or investor security questionnaire
Planning for NRC pre-application engagement
Involved in technology imports or exports
6 questions we get asked the most
The ones clients actually ask
01
Are we likely to fall under DOE, NRC, SEC, CMMC, export-control, and/or contractual IT system obligations?
02
Which systems, assets, users, vendors, cloud services, and data flows are in scope?
03
When do we need special IT systems if we possess CUI, UCNI, export-controlled, or other sensitive information?
04
What compliance and cybersecurity controls should we implement now versus later?
05
How should we structure segmentation, access control, logging, and evidence collection?
06
What documentation should we begin maintaining today?
If one of those is your question, you don't need a program yet — you need an answer.
One conversation, no obligation, tells you what applies and what can wait.
WHO WE HELP
Advanced reactor developers
Nuclear technology companies
Fuel-cycle & enrichment
DOE-funded research orgs
NRC-regulated entities
Nuclear supply chain companies
Critical infrastructure vendors
Industrial & OT teams
Where this shows up
Compliance expectations often arrive before licensing.
Funding
Federal funding and award review
Funding applications and award terms can introduce expectations for information protection, reporting, access, and cybersecurity planning.
Partnership
National lab & utility diligence
National laboratories, utilities, and strategic partners may review how sensitive information, systems, vendors, and third-party access are governed.
Commercial
Customer security review
Incomplete policies, controls, ownership, or supporting evidence can delay customer diligence and procurement.
Why Stillwater
Built intelligently. Not overwhelmed by bureaucracy.
Stillwater combines cybersecurity strategy, operational realism, and regulatory awareness to help nuclear technology startups build secure, scalable environments without unnecessary complexity.
Our goal isn’t to bury a startup in paperwork. It’s to help you build the right foundation before compliance pressure arrives — so it never becomes the reason a license slips, a program passes you over, or a customer walks.
Clear roadmaps
A prioritized path, not a 40-page framework dump
Actionable priorities
What matters now versus what can legitimately wait
Implementation support
We help build it, not just tell you what’s missing
AI-supported, human-led
Tools keep pace with the volume — the judgment stays human
How Stillwater helps
Five ways we keep pace with what's coming at you.
Regulatory exposure & readiness
Understand where DOE, NRC, SEC, CMMC, export-control, and contractual obligations may apply before they create costly delays or redesigns.
Cybersecurity architecture & asset visibility
Stronger visibility across systems, users, vendors, cloud, and OT — infrastructure that scales securely instead of getting rebuilt later.
NIST-aligned security foundations
Practical controls aligned to NIST, CMMC, DOE, and NRC expectations, with ISO 27001 readiness support where relevant.
Audit & inspection readiness
Prepare for investor diligence, partner reviews, contractual assessments, and regulatory scrutiny with less friction.
Incident readiness & response
IR plans, tabletop exercises, BC/DR planning, and incident command support for high-consequence environments.
Not sure which of these applies to you?
That’s exactly what a readiness call answers.
Build in the right order
Compliance decisions should guide cybersecurity investments.
Before investing in tools, controls, or certifications, determine what your contracts, information, partnerships, and licensing path actually require. Stillwater helps establish that foundation first.
Potential requirements
Not every requirement applies to every nuclear startup.
What applies depends on the company’s activities, contracts, information, partnerships, customers, and licensing path. The goal is to identify what matters now, what may come next, and what could create unnecessary delay if overlooked.
CMMC & federal contract readiness
Depends on contract and information
Federal contract and information-handling requirements may apply based on the type of information involved and the terms of an applicable solicitation or contract. Given how often this is the first real trigger for a nuclear startup, it’s usually the first thing worth understanding.
What is CMMC?
A DoD certification framework that verifies contractors protect Federal Contract Information (FCI) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) to a required security level. It applies when tied to a specific DoD solicitation or contract — not automatically to every federal interaction.
10 CFR 73.54
Covered applicants and licensees
Cybersecurity requirements for digital systems and networks associated with covered safety, security, and emergency preparedness functions.
What is this?
An NRC regulation requiring protection of digital computer and communication systems for covered functions at licensed facilities — not a general-purpose rule for every nuclear company.
NEI 08-09 / RG 5.71
NRC guidance and methodology
Guidance and industry methodology supporting the development of cybersecurity programs for covered applicants and licensees.
What is this?
Industry and NRC guidance documents describing an acceptable approach to building the cybersecurity program required under 73.54.
Export control & SEC disclosure
Depends on technology & funding source
Export-controlled technical data (ITAR/EAR) and SEC disclosure obligations can apply well before licensing, particularly for funded or investor-backed ventures handling UCNI or controlled reactor technology.
What is this?
Separate from NRC and CMMC — governs who can access certain nuclear technical data (export control) and what a funded company must disclose to investors and markets (SEC).
Customer and partner requirements
Depends on the relationship
Utilities, laboratories, customers, investors, engineering partners, and vendors may introduce additional security, access, reporting, privacy, or evidence expectations.
What is this?
Not a regulation — contractually or relationally imposed expectations that vary by counterparty and can arrive with little warning.
The questions arrive before the license
Four reasons startups wait — and why waiting costs more.
"We're not licensed yet"
Licensing is only one potential source of compliance obligations. Funding terms, contracts, sensitive information, customer expectations, and partner agreements can introduce requirements earlier.
"We don't have a CISO"
You don’t need a full security organization to begin — you need someone to help you work out what applies, who should own it, and what to build first. That’s what the first conversation with Stillwater does.
"It's too early to spend on this"
Early compliance advisory does not mean building an enterprise program too soon. It means avoiding unnecessary tools, unsupported assumptions, and expensive rework later.
"We'll address it when a customer asks"
By the time a diligence questionnaire arrives, the company may need policies, system records, ownership decisions, and evidence that cannot credibly be created overnight.
How engagements start
Compliance decisions first. Cybersecurity execution second.
Most compliance work starts with a gap assessment. This starts one step earlier — with whether it applies at all.
Understand the next milestone
Review the company’s funding, contracts, information, partnerships, customers, technology, and licensing plans.
Determine what applies
Identify the requirements and expectations that deserve attention now or may be triggered next.
Gap review & roadmap
Compare current practices against what matters, then set priorities, ownership, and sequencing.
Build the program and evidence
Develop proportionate controls, policies, procedures, documentation, and supporting evidence.
Let’s partner together
We'll help you navigate to calm.
Start with a practical conversation about your business, contracts, information, partnerships, systems, and licensing path. You’ll leave knowing what applies, what matters now, and what can legitimately wait.