2024 has been a watershed year for FedRAMP, ushering in significant structural, procedural, and technological advancements to the program meant to streamline authorization and make bringing cloud products to federal agencies easier. From new governance to new paths to authorization, we’re recapping FedRAMP’s changes in 2024.
FedRAMP has been a cornerstone of cloud adoption in the federal sector, ensuring that cloud service providers meet rigorous security standards. However, as digital transformation accelerates and government agencies seek faster adoption of innovative solutions, traditional compliance methods have proven time-consuming and resource-intensive. To address these challenges, FedRAMP has introduced the Agile Delivery Pilot, a… Read More
As federal agencies increasingly adopt cloud-native applications, containerized environments have become essential for deploying and scaling applications efficiently. Containers allow developers to package applications with all dependencies in isolated, consistent environments that run across multiple platforms, making them a popular choice for cloud service providers. However, this rise in container use also introduces unique security… Read More
FedRAMP is typically designed for traditional IT and cloud environments. However, IoT ecosystems’ highly interconnected and complex nature introduces new security, compliance, and management hurdles for organizations attempting to expand their FedRAMP perimeter. Scaling FedRAMP compliance across IoT networks requires advanced strategies and technologies to meet FedRAMP’s stringent requirements while addressing IoT-specific vulnerabilities. This article… Read More
FedRAMP is essential for cloud service providers working with federal agencies. It ensures that cloud products and services meet rigorous security standards, especially given the growing reliance on cloud solutions in the public sector. Advanced cloud security automation can significantly improve FedRAMP compliance by streamlining compliance processes, reducing manual overhead, and enhancing continuous monitoring, making… Read More
Ensuring FedRAMP compliance across multi-tenant environments is a significant challenge for managed service and cloud providers offering services to U.S. federal agencies. These environments, which allow multiple tenants to share computing resources while maintaining isolated data environments, must adhere to stringent security requirements defined by FedRAMP. Understanding these requirements and how to implement them effectively… Read More
Navigating FedRAMP High Authorization is a critical process for CSPs seeking to offer services to federal agencies. This authorization ensures that a cloud offering meets stringent security requirements to handle the most sensitive federal information. It demonstrates a high level of security that can lend itself to other federal government applications. This article will delve… Read More
Securing these digital environments is paramount as cloud-based systems and services become more integral to government operations. Enter the FedRAMP Digital Authorization Package Pilot, a significant milestone in modernizing and automating the FedRAMP authorization process. This pilot program aims to streamline the FedRAMP process, accelerating cloud adoption by improving security assessments’ efficiency, transparency, and reusability.… Read More
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is evolving to streamline and enhance its cloud security framework for federal agencies and cloud service providers (CSPs). The latest updates, stemming from two significant announcements, signify critical shifts in FedRAMP’s authorization process, which aims to promote efficiency, security, and scalability for cloud solutions used across government… Read More
As government agencies continue to rely on cloud services and secure data management, companies involved in these sectors must navigate complex regulatory landscapes. The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) are two of the most critical frameworks in this space. For companies pulling multiple responsibilities in government… Read More
In today’s highly regulated environment, federal agencies and their contractors must navigate a complex landscape of security requirements. For BDMs and TDMs, understanding and leveraging FedRAMP-compliant platforms is crucial for successfully navigating the authorization process and ensuring long-term operational security. This article will focus on why it’s crucial to find and work with security tools… Read More
Recently, FedRAMP announced that, per stakeholder feedback, the federal market’s needs for cloud SaaS products are not being met. A significant part of this is the program’s bottleneck. To address this issue, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released a draft memo offering significant program changes, including updates to infrastructure, leadership, and authorization. … Read More
Recently, the FedRAMP program (via the OMB) released a request for feedback on new guidance documentation for penetration testing under the program. The new guidance standards target organizations and 3PAOs undergoing or performing penetration tests under FedRAMP requirements. The new guidance addresses new attack vectors targeting subsystems in IT infrastructure. Here, we’ll cover his newest… Read More
An emergency vulnerability has emerged in Ivanti products and appliances, and it has sent many service providers, especially those in the federal space, in a rush to close their gaps and respond as best they can. This article covers the incident, the government’s response, and what it means for service providers.
With all the focus on network security, SaaS compliance, and big data protection, it’s sometimes very easy to forget that the most vulnerable parts of any given system are often those tied to the user. These devices (endpoints) are where these users do most of their work and where a lack of security best practices… Read More
StateRAMP is based on the FedRAMP standard, which means that it uses a similar set of documents and requirements to assess and authorize cloud service providers. One of the key documents of both StateRAMP and FedRAMP is the System Security Plan (SSP), which represents the provider’s security controls, compliance perimeter, and capabilities. In Revision 5,… Read More
StateRAMP, much like FedRAMP, includes a series of documents that the cloud provider and their 3PAO must complete before they are fully authorized. These documents align with several stages of the assessment process and provide regulating authorities with the proof they need to see that the cloud offering meets requirements. Here, we summarize the documents… Read More
There’s recently been a push within FedRAMP towards modernizing the framework to meet modern security challenges and better align federal security standards across agencies and technologies. Part of this push is standardizing how security controls are measured and assessed, and the most recent blog from FedRAMP mentions a new standard–OSCAL. Here, we will discuss OSCAL,… Read More
The draft memo released by the OMB signals many potential changes for the FedRAMP program, especially for the continuous monitoring process. Continuous monitoring is a crucial part of FedRAMP that ensures that CSPs maintain compliance. However, this process can also prove complicated and costly for cloud providers, especially small or unique companies offering innovative solutions.… Read More
The latest FedRAMP draft memo from the OMB shakes up quite a bit about the program. While nothing is set in stone, much ink is spilled on what it will mean for the program and participating cloud service providers. In this article, we will discuss what this new memo says about automation–specifically, how the program… Read More
In the ever-expanding cosmos of cloud computing, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is the primary standard for cloud service providers working with federal agencies. Recognizing this, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released a draft memorandum to revitalize FedRAMP, signaling a pivotal transformation to enhance the program’s efficiency, agility, and… Read More
The FedRAMP OMB has recently released a memorandum on modernizing the standard to address new realities in digital technology. This shift reflects the increasing reliance on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and the strategic roles of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in the federal, as well as the impact of new technologies like artificial intelligence. This article aims to… Read More
SOC 2 compliance provides a structured approach to ensuring data security, availability, and processing integrity, among other aspects. This article will dive into the specifics of SOC 2 and its impact on cloud security, shedding light on the technical controls, best practices, and the vital role of third-party attestations in bolstering trust between service providers… Read More
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199 provides organizations and individuals with the necessary guidance to determine a cybersecurity threat’s impact level accurately. These impact levels define the level of security a system should have to protect the data contained therein adequately. This article will take you through an overview of FIPS 199 and how… Read More