What is FedRAMP P-ATO? FedRAMP Compliance and Certification Steps Explained
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a US government-wide program that promotes the adoption of secure commercial cloud services across the federal government. The FedRAMP program streamlines the acquisition of cloud services by providing a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. FedRAMP empowers agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information.
FedRAMP compliance is a requirement for commercial cloud service providers (CSP) looking to provide s a security and compliance accreditation requirement for commercial cloud service providers looking to sell their solutions to US Government agencies. FedRAMP certifications are managed by GSA which is a US Government agency takes with operating the program. Federal agencies select and procure commercial cloud services based on their security requirements that are based on specific security levels called baselines. There are four major security baselines in the FedRAMP program High, Moderate, Low and Low-Impact SaaS (LI-SaaS).
What is FedRAMP Compliance?
FedRAMP accelerates the acquisition of commercial cloud services by US Federal Agencies and Public sector organizations as well as security sensitive commercial industries by providing comprehensive security attestations. A Commercial Cloud Service Provider (CSP) most go through the authorization process once, and after achieving an authorization for their Cloud Service Offering (CSO), the security package can be reused by any federal agency. FedRAMP enables the federal government to accelerate the adoption of cloud computing by creating transparent standards and processes for security authorizations and allowing agencies to leverage security authorizations on a government-wide scale.
How to get FedRAMP Authorized?
Cloud service providers looking to get FedRAMP authorized, should educate themselves about the program and its requirements. FedRAMP certification and compliance requires implementing and documenting technical, management and operations controls as mandated by the FedRAMP PMO. Additionally, an independent assessment must be performed by a 3PAO, which is then presented to either a Federal Agency (sponsor) or the Joint-Authorization Board (JAB) for review and approval. There are a number of helpful resources to help educated on the process including our Preparing for FedRAMP whitepaper and GSA’s website operated by the FedRAMP PMO. Once, your are ready to begin the FedRAMP authorization process and have a system deployed in production with a completed documentation package, you should contact the FedRAMP PMO to initiate the intake process.
FedRAMP compliant cloud solutions are listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace. There are over 300 accredited cloud services that are available to US Government, Department of Defense and other Public sector organizations to acquire. There is a rapidly growing market for FedRAMP accredited cloud services which is recession resilient and offers a rewarding economic opportunity for commercial organizations.
Accelerating FedRAMP Compliance and Certification
Conducting market research and getting a sense of options and trends is essential to making an informed decision on selecting the right FedRAMP ATO (Authority To Operate) strategy. Here are some available links with additional content for research.
https://stackarmor.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-get-fedramp-compliant-and-obtain-an-ato/
This blog post provides details on specific cost line items and critical drivers. The blog post also includes comments from FedRAMP SME’s and CISO/CTO’s of companies that have successfully achieved FedRAMP compliance.
Are you interested in FedRAMP certification? Schedule a free consultation to learn more about our FedRAMP Accelerator Assessment that can reduce the time and cost of your project by over 40%.
