Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)


Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a U.S. federal program that mandates a standardized approach to security assessments, authorization, and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services.

  • not a law
  • defines rules for government agencies contracting with cloud providers
  • Applies to:
    • Cloud platform providers (e.g. AWS)
    • Companies providing SaaS tools based in the cloud
  • FedRAMP certification can be very costly and difficult to achieve
  • run by U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
  • can find a list of FedRAMP certified cloud services at: https://marketplace.fedramp.gov

Requirements

FedRAMP requires only a single authority to operate (ATO) that allows an organization to do business with any number of federal agencies.

  • ATO is significantly broader, and thus more stringent than FISMA’s.