Achieving FedRAMP authorization is a significant undertaking for any CSP. It requires a significant amount of dedicated resources and a team that is fully committed to the process.

The process includes a pre-execution planning phase, a gap assessment, and selecting your partners. The next phase is preparing for a full security assessment from your 3PAO and creating a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M). Achieving this step leads to an Agency Authorization or P-ATO from the JAB.

Streamlined Processes

There are multiple players in the FedRAMP process – you (the enterprise wishing to offer cloud products or services) and your third-party assessment organization (3PAO). You also have FedRAMP advisors, individuals who perform the Readiness Assessment Report and Full Security Assessment and provide guidance and support throughout the FedRAMP process.

The General Services Administration’s FedRAMP program is in the middle of a major revision and automation push. It will soon release XML-automated validations to enable vendors to check their security authorization packages for completeness before the agency reviews them and decides whether or not to give an authority to operate (ATO). This automation should dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes for agencies to get new cloud products in the field.

For CISOs, this can mean lower risk exposure, improved security posture and more efficient compliance management. It can also accelerate the timeline to adoption for mission-enabling cloud products.

For CSPs, this can mean reduced costs, less time and effort spent on compliance, and the ability to scale up their FedRAMP efforts to meet the needs of their government customer base. To this end, innovative companies are now offering FedRAMP automation as a service, eliminating the need for costly and complex delivery tools or a large upfront investment in infrastructure. This “compliance-as-a-service” is enabling CSPs to achieve FedRAMP compliance and authorization in half the traditional timeframe.

Automated Reporting

Regulatory standards are constantly changing, and information systems are growing in size and complexity. A FedRAMP automation solution allows CISOs to monitor and automate all aspects of compliance management, reducing the need for manual processes that are vulnerable to errors. This approach also helps CISOs keep up with changing standards and reduces the risk of non-compliance.

The FedRAMP process is complex and time-consuming, with multiple requirements that must be met by both cloud service providers (CSPs) and third-party assessment organizations (3PAOs). A FedRAMP automation tool enables CSPs to quickly prepare and submit a Readiness Assessment Report (RAR) for an agency or the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). In addition, the software can help identify deviations from compliance standards so they can be addressed before they cause problems.

The RAR is a key document during the FedRAMP authorization process because it outlines the steps necessary to get a full security assessment and an authority to operate (ATO) from an agency or JAB. This document details what was tested, the results of those tests, and any remediation actions that must be taken to improve a system’s security posture.

The GSA is working on XML-automated validations that would let vendors self-test their security packages and make sure all the required data is in them before they’re submitted to the FedRAMP program. This could speed up the authorization process and prevent more expensive legacy systems from staying in operation longer than necessary due to delays in getting an ATO.

Pre-Build Modules

Depending on the impact level of data processed, stored, and transmitted by your system, you may need to complete a security assessment conducted by a third-party assessor (3PAO). The assessments can be time-consuming and expensive, especially when you need to perform multiple assessments for different systems.

Automation tools can help streamline the process by automating the tasks required for the assessment, such as scanning, reporting, and documentation of results. This allows you to reduce the time and effort required for a 3PAO review while still ensuring compliance with FedRAMP requirements.

In addition to the cost of performing 3PAO assessments, ongoing monitoring and management can also add up. Continuous monitoring includes infrastructure monitoring, vulnerability scans, and a monthly Plan of Actions and Milestones (POA&M) report that documents actions taken to remediate gaps in the information systems’ security posture. Additionally, a yearly audit performed by your 3PAO is required.

To make the process more efficient, Goodrich said FedRAMP is working to streamline its processes and provide better training for stakeholders, including the governing bodies and sponsors. FedRAMP is also adding a new set of playbooks, including a guidance on authorization boundaries, and is making it easier to find the right documents on the website. The changes will benefit both agencies and CSPs, he added.

Enhanced Security

A comprehensive FedRAMP automation service will help you save time and effort by automating document preparation and simplifying the process. This will improve your ability to manage security risks, vulnerabilities, and incidents while supporting major compliance frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA.

A-LIGN offers a complete suite of automation tools for the entire FedRAMP lifecycle. Sprinto, for example, helps FedRAMP stakeholders manage threats and vulnerabilities by delivering audit-friendly evidence of compliant controls and remedial actions in real time. It also automates reporting and helps reduce costs by combining multiple documents into one package.

The system will streamline the process of preparing for and conducting your annual assessment by enabling you to automate many of the tasks involved in assessing the security capabilities of your solution against the federal requirements for baseline security. This is crucial to the success of your FedRAMP application.

Whether you are seeking a JAB Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) or full authorization, the process involves submitting a detailed security package to the FedRAMP PMO and Sponsoring Agency for review. The Joint Authorization Board, consisting of members from the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and General Services Administration (3PAO), then decides if your product is an acceptable risk. If the answer is yes, you receive an ATO and can begin working with agencies.