FedRAMP Is Your Best Cloud Bet, Even for Commercial Businesses

Think FedRAMP is just for government agencies? Think again. In fact, lots of commercial or private sector businesses use a FedRAMP authorized cloud service to protect their IP, PII, and PHI. FedRAMP is more than a best practice, it’s the gold standard for sharing sensitive content securely.

For CISOs, the cloud is a double-edged sword. Every minute and penny saved on the cloud comes at the price of increased risk. Why? In a public cloud, a customer organization’s data and metadata are intermingled with information from the cloud vendor’s entire customer base. Customers share the same infrastructure, from networks to storage to memory and compute resources. Data is shared on the same file system, and metadata is shared on the same database and tables. As a result, security professionals are deservedly fearful that malware and other cyberattacks will spread across shared resources; someone else’s problem becomes your problem.

Why Are Cloud Systems Working on Becoming FedRAMP Compliant?

Cloud service providers (CSPs) are working on becoming FedRAMP compliant because it is required to provide cloud-based services to federal agencies in the United States. Once FedRAMP has authorized a cloud service provider, federal agencies can use its cloud services without conducting their security assessment. This saves federal agencies time and resources and gives them a higher assurance that their cloud services meet their security requirements. In addition to meeting federal compliance requirements, becoming FedRAMP compliant can also provide cloud service providers with a competitive advantage in the commercial or private sector market. Because FedRAMP authorization is recognized across all federal agencies, it’s easier for cloud service providers to market their services to a wide range of private sector customers as well.

The Importance of FedRAMP

One of the critical benefits of FedRAMP is that it saves time and resources for government agencies and commercial businesses. By relying on FedRAMP authorized cloud services, agencies and companies can access pre-vetted cloud solutions that meet their security requirements. This eliminates the need for individual security assessments, which can be time-consuming and costly.

FedRAMP compliance can also provide commercial businesses with a competitive advantage. By meeting FedRAMP requirements, companies can demonstrate their commitment to security and compliance, which is essential for winning business from government agencies. Additionally, businesses that work with government agencies may require FedRAMP-compliant cloud services, so compliance can be a crucial differentiator in the marketplace.

FedRAMP Authorized Is the Way to Go When Cloud Data Security Is a Top Priority

To ensure the highest level of cloud data security, the Federal Government created the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) to provide a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. A FedRAMP authorized cloud solution provides organizations with an extra layer of security and governance, supported by continuous monitoring, testing, reporting, and auditing.

To ensure the highest levels of cloud security, a FedRAMP authorization requires an extensive application process involving thorough documentation of the cloud solution provider’s security processes, assessments of related systems, creation of a System Security Plan, and training and certification of the provider’s employees who have access to the FedRAMP environment.

Commercial businesses that contract with the Federal Government are strongly encouraged, and in some cases required, to use a FedRAMP authorized cloud solution to ensure secure file sharing. Whether encouraged or required, using a FedRAMP authorized cloud solution to exchange and hold sensitive information is the ultimate best practice.

What a Kiteworks FedRAMP Authorized Cloud Can Do for Your Business

Not all FedRAMP authorized solutions are created equally. Public cloud service providers have a have a single cloud application for all of their customers, both FedRAMP and non-FedRAMP alike. This means all of their users’ data and metadata are intermingled in one application. That one application runs on shared infrastructure – virtual servers, storage and networks. By contrast, Kiteworks takes a private cloud approach. Each Kiteworks FedRAMP customer has its own, completely isolated Kiteworks application – a completely separate set of users, data, and metadata.

For organizations who choose a FedRAMP authorized deployment for their Kiteworks secure content communication platform, they receive a separate AWS Virtual Private Cloud for all processing. This is enabled by a dedicated server, isolated from all other customers on Amazon Cloud. With a FedRAMP authorization, the Kiteworks platform also enables regulatory compliance with other government regulations, including NIST 800-171 and ITAR.

The Kiteworks platform is available to Federal Government and commercial businesses in isolated environments on Amazon Cloud. The Kiteworks FedRAMP authorized package features:

• Separate customer Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for all processing
• Dedicated servers
• Data isolated from all other customers
• Encrypted file storage and transfer
• Remote wipe for all mobile clients
• Reporting and audit trails
• Continuous monitoring for intrusions and other threats
  • Includes vulnerability and penetration scanning as well as rigorous, proactive remediation, plan of action and milestones for mediation tracking

Organizations using the Kiteworks secure content communication platform have full control of their sensitive content: data encryption in transit and at rest, encryption key ownership for private cloud and on-premise deployments, AV and DLP scanning on file uploads and downloads, role-based permissions, and much more. In addition, Kiteworks’ many security integrations lets organizations leverage their existing security infrastructure investments, including HSM, LDAP/AD, SSO, MFA, DLP, ATP, SIEM and more. Lastly, organizations have full visibility into where sensitive content is stored, who has access to it and what’s being done with it. All file activity is auditable and allows organizations to demonstrate compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, FIPS and other rigorous regulations and standards.

When commercial businesses choose Kiteworks’ FedRAMP authorized platform for sharing sensitive information with third parties, they demonstrate to their partners and customers that data security is a top priority. And having FedRAMP authorization as a baseline set of security controls provides commercial businesses a distinct competitive advantage. It’s a commitment to the highest level of content security.

To learn more about Kiteworks’ FedRAMP authorized platform, schedule a custom demo of Kiteworks today.

Additional Resources

• Glossary What Are FIPS Compliance Requirements?
• Blog Post What Is the CMMC Framework?
• Blog Post What Are FDA GxP Regulations?
• Glossary What Is a FedRAMP Compliance Platform?
• Blog Post What Are Email Security Solutions?