The Top 7 Cloud FedRAMP Compliance Solutions
Discover the top FedRAMP compliance solutions with features like documentation automation, continuous monitoring, and security assessment.
Written by Alex Zawalnyski
Technical Review by Craig MacAlpine
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1.
Accenture Federal Services
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2.
AWS GovCloud
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3.
IBM Cloud Object Storage for FedRAMP
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4.
Orca Security
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5.
Rapid7 InsightCloudSec
FedRAMP, or the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, sets the gold standard for cloud service providers (CSPs) aiming to secure contracts with U.S. government agencies. Even for organizations that do not serve the U.S. government, adhering to the same standards isn’t a bad idea. As such, FedRAMP compliant solutions have emerged as robust tools for CSPs, ensuring that they are secured to the rigorous and intricate standards that FedRAMP demands.
FedRAMP compliance is not just about ticking boxes; it’s a comprehensive assessment of a CSP’s security posture. It ensures that sensitive data is handled with the utmost care, decreasing the chances of information being compromised and accessed by unauthorized users.
The right compliance solution will provide a clear checklist for CSPs, highlighting the steps they need to take to ensure that they are compliant. It will detail the required security controls, documentation needs, and continuous monitoring strategies that are needed to meet the FedRAMP standards.
There are several features to look for when selecting a FedRAMP compliance solution. Firstly, an effective FedRAMP compliance solution should offer a structured approach, breaking down the complexities of the FedRAMP process into multiple, manageable tasks. Secondly, they should integrate seamlessly with other IT systems and tools. This ensures that security controls are effectively implemented across all layers of the cloud infrastructure and that deployment is consistent. Finally, an effective solution should prioritize real-time monitoring and provide regular updates. This will ensure that CSPs remain compliant even as standards and requirements evolve over time.
In addition to this, FedRAMP compliance solutions need to be versatile and agile enough to allow for the unique requirements of each cloud model; Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) will all require different approaches and standards.
There are multiple FedRAMP compliance solutions available, each promising an efficient pathway to compliance and regulation. It can be challenging for CSPs to identify the best fit for their needs and cut through the marketing jargon. To help you find the right solution, we’ve evaluated the top solutions on the market and selected the top FedRAMP compliance products. In this guide, we’ll highlight each product’s standout features and benefits, giving you the information that you need to make an informed decision.
Accenture Federal Services
Accenture Cloud Platform for Government (ACP4Gov) is a cloud management tool that can provide oversight of resources, granting complete visibility into provisioning, utilization, real-time health, and expenses across diverse cloud ecosystems. The platform incorporates advanced metrics and analytics to help control and optimize cloud spend based on actual utilization. An emphasis on governance and compliance ensures that user provisioning aligns with organizational policies, and federal government standards, including FedRAMP.
Accenture’s ACP4Gov utilizes standard ServiceNow applications and features, including integrations with leading cloud technologies that are used in both government and private sectors. ACP4Gov integrates an artificial intelligence component for enhanced IT operations management and boasts an open architecture, making it agile and upgradable. ACP4Gov can promptly adapt to shifting cloud policies and remain compliant, this ensures that your cloud infrastructure remains secure and protected.
Accenture Federal Services
AWS GovCloud
AWS GovCloud
IBM Cloud Object Storage for FedRAMP
IBM Cloud Object Storage is a cloud service designed for the storage of large volumes of unstructured data in any format. This storage solution offers data encryption and allows information to be stored across multiple geographical locations. The platform is tailored to handle the storage needs of cloud-native workloads and offers features for cost optimization, data security, and governance. The platform facilitates storage and access through the S3 API, SDKs, and IBM Cloud user interface.
IBM Cloud Object Storage offers high-speed data transfer through IBM Aspera, enabling users to upload data seamlessly. It provides a range of storage tiers, from hot to cold data, accommodating varying data usage patterns. The platform is fully FedRAMP complaint, ensuring that your data is stored in a secure and verifiable way. Security measures include role-based policies, access permissions, and top-tier encryption key management. IBM Cloud Object Storage also provides immutable data retention, data replication across cloud regions, and object versioning. This safeguards against unintentional overwrites and data loss.
IBM Cloud Object Storage for FedRAMP
Orca Security
Orca Security offers a Cloud Security Platform that identifies and addresses security risks and compliance issues across multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes. The platform provides a comprehensive view of cloud risks, from misconfigurations and vulnerabilities to data security and API exposure. Importantly, Orca Security’s Cloud Security Platform has achieved the FedRAMP Ready designation, signifying its potential to cater to the US Federal Government and its associated entities. The platform is now listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace as FedRAMP Ready.
The platform’s key features include its ability to rapidly integrate with cloud environments. This allows it to deliver risk assessments quickly; the platform can automatically pinpoint sensitive information (such as PII) ensuring that no information is overlooked. Orca Security’s capabilities do not end here, it is a comprehensive platform that unites broad functionality. It delivers vulnerability management features, multi-cloud compliance, posture management, cloud workload protection, and container security. Additionally, Orca facilitates the swift remediation of cloud risks, allowing security teams to instantly locate the source of an alert and trace it back to the specific line of code responsible.
Orca Security
Rapid7 InsightCloudSec
InsightCloudSec is a cloud-native security platform designed to manage cloud risks and automate compliance across disparate cloud environments. The platform provides real-time, agentless visibility into all operational areas, ensuring quick and accurate detection of risks. The platform can automate risk remediation to reduce human workload, as well as prioritizing outstanding risks (taking context into account), allowing you to focus on remediating the most pressing concerns.
InsightCloudSec is a fully integrated platform, encapsulating a broad range of cloud security tools within a single solution. It offers real-time visibility across different clouds, context-driven risk management, and agentless vulnerability management. To enhance security postures, the platform can also integrate Kubernetes security guardrails, Cloud Detection and Response (CDR), mechanisms for cloud hygiene, and cost containment. InsightCloudSec takes a proactive approach and streamlines DevSecOps workflows, empowering teams to swiftly identify, evaluate, and address threats.
Rapid7 InsightCloudSec
RegScale for FedRAMP Compliance
RegScale for FedRAMP Compliance is a government, risk, and compliance (GRC) tool designed to streamline the FedRAMP Authorization to Operate (ATO) process. RegScale’s uses NIST’s Open Security Control Assessment Language (OSCAL) for machine-to-machine communication. This expedites the assessment process, ensuring that your organization is secure sooner. The platform provides an ecosystem of technical integrations and service providers to further speed up the compliance process.
RegScale’s focus on OSCAL enables quicker, more cost-effective ATO attainment by offering machine-readable, pre-formatted, and validated content. With its digital, real-time, and automated approach, companies can transition from static compliance methods to a modernized solution. RegScale’s extensive APIs and CLIs empower organizations to navigate the complex landscape of federal compliance seamlessly.
RegScale for FedRAMP Compliance
Veritas Enterprise Data Services Platform
The Veritas Enterprise Data Services Platform assists government agencies in managing and optimizing their extensive and intricate data assets in a secure and compliant manner. Veritas’ integrated technology platform aims to streamline data complexity protecting sensitive information throughout its lifecycle, and providing insights for more informed decision-making, rather than securing itself periodically. The platform supports over 500 data sources and 150 storage targets, including 60 cloud options. This results in extensive flexibility regarding deployment, regardless of an agency’s infrastructure blend. One of the benefits of this streamlining is a reduced total cost of ownership.
Veritas’ platform is designed to identify and eliminate gaps in your resiliency strategy. This reduces the chance of suffering a critical breach, ensuring that you can continue operating without any downtime. The platform is powered by AI and ML anomaly detection; this gives you an effective, multi-layered form of protection. Alongside this, the platform delivers immutable storage with advance cryptographic security.
Veritas Enterprise Data Services Platform
FAQs
Everything You Need To Know About FedRAMP Compliance Solutions (FAQs)
FedRAMP is the abbreviated name of Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. It was established in 2011 to act as a framework to guide federal agencies as they adopt modern cloud technologies in a safe and secure manner. FedRAMP aims to standardize a secure approach to cloud computing, ensuring that it can be adopted in a secure and effective way.
In December 2022, the FedRAMP Authorization Act was codified as the authoritative standard approach for securing cloud computing products. The FedRAMP framework has a focus on protection and security of information; two essential points for a standardized framework. As a result, FedRAMP authorization is one of the most rigorous software certifications in the world; it relates to 14 laws and regulations, alongside 19 standards and guidance documents.
FedRAMP compliance is for federal agencies and cloud solution providers (CSPs), rather than end consumers. Therefore, most IT organizations will not need to worry about implementing FedRAMP expectations within their organization but may still want to use a FedRAMP compliant solution or attain FedRAMP compliance themselves.
FedRAMP compliance solutions will ensure that your organization operates in a secure and efficient way, whilst adhering to all the recommendations (or requirement) of the FedRAMP legislation. FedRAMP requires that you conduct security assessments, authorizations, and continuous monitoring of cloud services.
Attaining (and maintaining) compliance with FedRAMP expectations can be time consuming and resource intensive. Manually keeping track of compliance workloads can be slow and it may be hard to identify errors and compliance failures if these are not tracked automatically. FedRAMP compliance solutions help you attain compliance, but also ensure that you are able to meet these expectations for the foreseeable future. FedRAMP compliance is an ongoing process that should be continually monitored and updated.
FedRAMP compliance solutions work in several ways to ensure organizations can adhere to the recommendations. They help organizations with
- Awareness and training
- Configuration management
- Identification and authentication
- Planning
- Risk assessment
- Security assessment and authorization
- System and information integrity
- System and services acquisition
This is often achieved through user-friendly dashboards to monitor metrics and relevant risks. These dashboards can streamline the auditing and monitoring process, ensuring that it is efficient and accurate. By storing this information centrally, it is easy to monitor compliance and identify areas of concern.
By using a FedRAMP compliance solution, you can easily track metrics and outstanding tasks that need to be completed to attain compliance. This type of platform allows you to cross reference FedRAMP requirements with your own organization, empowering you to align and meet the expectations.
FedRAMP requirements and standards are some of the most stringent and complex out there. Using an effective and accurate FedRAMP compliance solution ensures that you can achieve and maintain compliance more easily. With FedRAMP compliance being so stringent, it is important to select the right compliance solution from day one.
It can be difficult to identify which compliance solution is best suited for your needs. With this in mind, we’ve made a list of some of the key things to look for when searching for a compliance solution.
- Automated assessments – you’ll want to ensure that the platform can automatically assess your practices and configurations to confirm that you are acting in accordance with requirements.
- Continuous Monitoring – Linked with the idea of automated assessments, you’ll want a solution that can monitor your status continuously. This ensures that you are aware of (and can address) any issues as soon as they crop up.
- Wide Integration – It is essential that your compliance tool can integrate with your existing tools to give you a comprehensive insight into your organization’s compliance status.
- Reporting – Understanding how your organization is operating in relation to FedRAMP policies is important. Robust reporting tools allow you to understand status and keep track of progress. This should highlight potential vulnerabilities and suggest any remediation actions necessary.
- Updates – All frameworks change over time. You will want a solution that automatically updates to ensure you are acting in accordance with the most relevant frameworks. Otherwise, you may think you are more compliant than you actually are.
- Scalability – As your organization grows, integrates more technologies, and moves into new territories, you’ll want to ensure that you remain FedRAMP compliant. An effective solution should scale as you grow, ensuring that your entire estate is monitored and accounted for.
- Security – This point really should go without saying, but it is of the utmost importance. It is essential that a FedRAMP solution uses appropriate encryption and security methods to protect your data. As this data will offer valuable information regarding your organization’s practices and policies, it could be very valuable to an attacker looking to gain access to your organization.
Selecting the right FedRAMP compliance solution is one of the most important decisions you’ll make on your compliance journey. If you select an ineffective solution, you may find it hard to meet the compliance standards that are expected of you. This will prevent you from doing business with government agencies and potentially other customers who are looking for you to meet these standards too.
Written By
Alex is an experienced journalist and content editor. He researches, writes, factchecks and edits articles relating to B2B cyber security and technology solutions, working alongside software experts. Alex was awarded a First Class MA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh.
Technical Review
Craig MacAlpine is CEO and founder of Expert Insights. Before founding Expert Insights in August 2018, Craig spent 10 years as CEO of EPA cloud, an email security provider acquired by Ziff Davies, formerly J2Global (NASQAQ: ZD) in 2013, which has now been rebranded as VIPRE Email Security. Craig has extensive experience in the email security industry, with 20+ years of experience helping organizations to stay secure with innovative information security and cyber security solutions.