If your organization works on technology projects for the government and/or defense industry, you are likely familiar with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, better known as FedRAMP. The program standardizes the process for the security assessment, authorization, and monitoring of cloud-based services used for the government and military. Its ultimate goal is to reduce the number of redundant security assessments.

Is FedRAMP a government program that ultimately benefits your technology company? Does it save you time and money? Let’s take a closer look at the details to find out.

Making Government Cloud Security Assessments More Efficient

The federal government created FedRAMP to implement a model of “do once, use many times” when it comes to assessing the security of cloud products and services used by government and defense agencies. Simply put, it fosters a framework to save money and time by removing redundancy from the process.

It is a mandatory program for all cloud deployments and services for any federal agency no matter the risk level. The only exception involves private cloud deployments made for a singular agency and hosted on-site at a federal facility.

Ensuring Federal Cloud Deployments Are Secure

FedRAMP goes above and beyond the standard NIST baseline controls noted in NIST SP 800-53 Revision 4. These additional requirements focus on the unique aspects of cloud computing, ensuring all federal data remains secure in these cloud-based environments.

The Types of FedRAMP Authorizations

Two types of FedRAMP authorizations exist, known as a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) and Authority to Operate (ATO). The P-ATO is an initial approval of an authorization package for a cloud-based system or product. Naturally, the ATO is granted after the full assessment is completed.

There are two related designations identifying where the cloud system is in the authorization process. FedRAMP Ready means the system is ready for an initial assessment to receive a P-ATO. FedRAMP Authorized identifies systems passing the full process; ultimately receiving an ATO.

FedRAMP Isn’t a Barrier for Small Businesses Working With the Government

As noted earlier, FedRAMP is designed to reduce redundancy in the security authorization process. Once contractors receive a FedRAMP authorization, they are able to reuse it with subsequent federal agencies. This obviously saves time and money.

If your technology organization wants to learn more about FedRAMP, simply review these additional FAQs.

When your IT company needs an experienced partner to guide you through the process of working with the government, speak with the knowledgeable team at Sentient Digital, Inc.. We fully understand FedRAMP and can help your firm achieve higher levels of success.