FedRAMP
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 2011 |
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a
In 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memorandum establishing FedRAMP "to provide a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services to Executive departments and agencies."[2] The General Services Administration (GSA) established the FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO) in June 2012. The FedRAMP PMO mission is to promote the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment.[3] Per the OMB memorandum, any cloud services that hold federal data must be FedRAMP authorized.[4] FedRAMP prescribes the security requirements and processes that cloud service providers must follow in order for the government to use their service.
There are two ways to authorize a cloud service through FedRAMP: a Joint Authorization Board (JAB) provisional authorization (P-ATO),[5] and through individual agencies.[6]
Before the introduction of FedRAMP, individual federal agencies managed their own assessment methodologies following guidance set by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002.[7]
FedRAMP provides accreditation for cloud services for the various cloud offering models which are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service, (SaaS).
Governance and applicable laws
FedRAMP is governed by different
- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB): The governing body that issued the FedRAMP policy memo, which defines the key requirements and capabilities of the program
- The Joint Authorization Board (JAB): The primary governance and decision-making body for FedRAMP comprises the chief information officers (CIOs) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), General Services Administration (GSA), and Department of Defense(DOD)
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Advises FedRAMP on FISMA compliance requirements and assists in developing the standards for the accreditation of independent 3PAOs
- The Department of Homeland Security(DHS): Manages the FedRAMP continuous monitoring strategy including data feed criteria, reporting structure, threat notification coordination, and incident response
- The Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council: Disseminates FedRAMP information to Federal CIOs and other representatives through cross-agency communications and events
- The FedRAMP PMO: Established within GSA and responsible for the development of the FedRAMP program, including the management of day-to-day operations
There are several laws, mandates, and policies that are foundational to FedRAMP.
Third-party assessment organizations
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Third-party assessment organizations (3PAOs) play a critical role in the FedRAMP security assessment process, as they are the independent assessment organizations that verify cloud providers’ security implementations and provide the overall risk posture of a cloud environment for a security authorization decision.[10] Accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), these assessment organizations must demonstrate independence and the technical competence required to test security implementations and collect representative evidence.
FedRAMP Marketplace
The FedRAMP Marketplace provides a searchable, sortable database of Cloud Service Offerings (CSOs) that have achieved a FedRAMP designation.[11] 3PAOs, accredited auditors that can perform the FedRAMP assessment, are listed within the Marketplace. The FedRAMP Marketplace is maintained by the FedRAMP Program Management Office (PMO).[12]
See also
References
- ^ "FedRAMP.gov". FedRAMP.gov. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Policy memo" (PDF). www.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "FedRAMP.gov". FedRAMP.gov. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Policy memo" (PDF). www.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Get Authorized: Joint Authorization Board". FedRAMP.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Get Authorized: Agency Authorization". FedRAMP.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "DOD turns to FedRAMP and cloud brokering -- FCW". FCW. 2014-05-21. Archived from the original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Governance". FedRAMP.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Policy memo" (PDF). www.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Policy memo" (PDF). www.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "The Federal Risk And Management Program Dashboard". marketplace.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ^ "Marketplace designations" (PDF). www.fedramp.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-05.