CISA’s Industry Engagement Platform (IEP) signals a meaningful shift in how that relationship works. While the platform is not a compliance or procurement system it represents something arguably more useful: a formalized, structured mechanism for continuous engagement between CISA and the private sector.
For organizations operating in regulated environments, particularly those subject to FedRAMP, CMMC, StateRAMP, FISMA, and emerging cross-sector performance goals, the IEP is more than an informational portal. It is an early indicator of how government cybersecurity compliance will increasingly be shaped: collaboratively, iteratively, and with greater emphasis on real-world capability rather than static checklists.
Why CISA Built the Industry Engagement Platform
Historically, CISA’s engagement with industry has been fragmented. Communication between the agency and private-sector businesses was often ad hoc, built through existing relationships or legal requirements.
Following this, SMBs, in particular, struggled to understand where or how to engage. This meant that innovative technologies that didn’t emerge from large enterprises lacked a reliable way to secure agency attention.
The IEP was designed to address the gap and establish a reliable, open, and transparent communication channel between organizations of all sizes and the CISA. It reduces friction between these organizations and government SMEs and provides new pathways for compliant, innovative tech to percolate up through the private sector into federal implementation.
How the IEP Works in Practice
- Organizations begin by creating a technology profile. This profile captures core information about what the organization does, the types of cybersecurity or infrastructure capabilities it provides, and the domains in which it operates. This isn’t a pitch, but a description of the product or service to help CISA understand where it fits.
- Once a profile is established, organizations can request engagement with SMEs at CISA. These requests are routed based on their relevance to CISA mission areas, such as cloud security, zero trust, industrial control systems, software supply chain security, or incident response.
- The platform also allows organizations to share supporting materials, such as white papers, architectural overviews, and research findings. These materials are not evaluated for procurement, but they can inform CISA’s understanding of market trends and technical feasibility.
You’ll be asked to create a Login.gov account and follow required security procedures.
The IEP does not replace contracting vehicles, influence acquisition decisions, or serve as a pre-award evaluation tool. By keeping engagement distinct from procurement, CISA preserves fairness while still benefiting from early technical insight.
How Is this Different from Regulations and Supply Chain Engagement?
Before the IEP, CISA’s interactions with businesses, technology innovators, and researchers were primarily conducted through traditional federal engagement channels like industry days, RFIs, formal conferences, working groups, and case-by-case coordination with subject-matter experts. These mechanisms served as critical bridges between government and industry, but they were inefficient and fragmented by design.
This situation wasn’t unique to CISA. Across the federal cybersecurity ecosystem, smaller vendors and deep-tech startups routinely encountered two core barriers:
- Uncertainty About Engagement Paths: Most outreach mechanisms were event-based: a cybersecurity summit, an industry day, a request for comments tied to a specific policy, or a Federal Register notice.
- Bottlenecks in Scheduling and Prioritization: Even when a business knew whom to contact, arranging substantive discussions with the right subject matter experts could take weeks or months. With cyber threats evolving daily, that lag undercuts the potential for meaningful early insight.
With the IEP, CISA gains earlier visibility into how security controls are implemented across cloud environments, SaaS platforms, DevSecOps pipelines, and zero-trust architectures.
What This Means for FedRAMP, CMMC, and GovRAMP
While the IEP is not tied to any single framework, its relevance to FedRAMP, CMMC, and StateRAMP is significant.
- FedRAMP, in particular, has faced sustained pressure to modernize. Cloud service providers routinely implement security controls that exceed baseline requirements but struggle to align them with control language written years earlier. Structured engagement through the IEP provides CISA and other stakeholders with a clearer view of where control interpretations may be outdated or overly restrictive.
- CMMC presents a different but related challenge. As the Department of Defense emphasizes protection against advanced persistent threats and supply chain compromise, the effectiveness of security controls matters more than their mere existence.
- GovRAMP and other state-level programs stand to benefit as well. As states increasingly align with federal guidance, the insights generated through IEP engagement can cascade outward, promoting greater consistency and reducing fragmentation across regulatory regimes.
From Checkbox Compliance to Performance-Driven Security
One of the most common criticisms of government cybersecurity compliance is that it’s focused on checklists and implementation rather than on risk or ongoing security health. Businesses can pass assessments, but they fall behind when addressing modern threats and ongoing improvements (especially when incorporating new tech).
CISA has been increasingly vocal about addressing this issue, particularly through initiatives such as the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs). The IEP complements this direction by grounding performance goals in technical reality.
Vendors and contractors that engage early will be better positioned as compliance expectations evolve. The IEP becomes a forum not for selling products, but for shaping shared understanding of what “effective security” looks like in modern environments.
The responsibility lies in how that engagement is conducted. The IEP is not a shortcut to influence. It rewards clarity, technical rigor, and an understanding of government mission needs. Organizations that approach the platform as a marketing channel will miss its strategic value.
Innovating your Tech Stack? Work with Continuum GRC
For CISOs and CIOs, the IEP is a new pipeline to engage with the federal government. The platform lays critical groundwork for a more adaptive, credible, and risk-focused compliance ecosystem in the years ahead.
We provide risk management and compliance support for every major regulation and compliance framework on the market, including:
- FedRAMP
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- SOC 1, SOC 2
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And more. We are the only FedRAMP and StateRAMP-authorized compliance and risk management solution worldwide.
Continuum GRC is a proactive cybersecurity® and the only FedRAMP and StateRAMP-authorized cybersecurity audit platform worldwide. Call 1-888-896-6207 to discuss your organization’s cybersecurity needs and learn how we can help protect your systems and ensure compliance.
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