The 2 Things I Wish I Could Change About FedRAMP

Yes — authorization can be reused by multiple agencies via the FedRAMP Marketplace, but some agencies may request additional requirements.

20x introduces automation, key security indicators (KSIs), continuous monitoring validation, and streamlined authorization (sometimes without sponsor requirements).

→ Compare KSIs to Rev 5 controls

Incomplete documentation, insufficient evidence, failing initial gap assessments, lack of executive support, and underestimating resource requirements.

→ How to create the most accurate documentation for audit success

FedRAMP is U.S. government-specific and NIST-based, more prescriptive and granular than commercial standards.

FedRAMP allows CSPs to “inherit” controls from IaaS providers; you must document and verify this inheritance with shared responsibility models.

Controls follow NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 (with additional FedRAMP overlays) — covering access control, incident response, risk assessment, configuration management, etc.

→ Get your custom accelerated FedRAMP implementation roadmap

At minimum: 

• Monthly POAMs and vulnerability scans
• Annual security assessments
• Ad hoc submissions for significant changes.

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Plan of Action and Milestones: a document tracking remediation plans for open vulnerabilities, findings, and compliance issues.

→ Learn more about POAMs

ConMon involves ongoing assessments, vulnerability scanning, reporting POAMs, and keeping security posture current post-authorization.

Major deliverables include a System Security Plan (SSP), Security Assessment Plan (SAP), Security Assessment Report (SAR), Plan of Actions and Milestones (POA&M), Continuous Monitoring (ConMon) documentation, policies/procedures, and more.

Yes, for now. But, agency sponsorship requirements are evolving — FedRAMP 20x does not require a sponsor.

Consider experience with similar environments, references, price, and knowledge of specific cloud implementations.

→ Find the best assessor for your CSP with these tips

A Third Party Assessment Organization is an accredited independent assessor that conducts key security testing and assessment for FedRAMP. 

→ Find a recommended 3PAO

• Initial costs range from ~$150k to $3M+ for gap assessments, remediation, 3PAO audits, and documentation/reporting. 
• Annual costs can range from $50k to $1m to maintain documentation, do continuous monitoring, and resource allocation. 

→ Learn more about what FedRAMP could cost your organization and whether or not it’s worth the effort

Typical processes take 6–24 months. Paramify accelerates the process to take between 1-10 months with a fully prepared package in less than a month. 

Your timeline will vary depending on your impact level, whether you take a manual or automated approach to implementation & documentation, and PMO wait times.

→ Learn about the FedRAMP Authorization process and what it costs.

• Ready: Preliminary review for capability and documentation.
• In Process: CSP is actively working toward authorization, usually with an agency sponsor or as part of the JAB program.‍
• Authorized: Successfully completed security assessment and continuous monitoring.

Low, Moderate, and High — based on the type and sensitivity of federal data hosted (FIPS 199 categories: confidentiality, integrity, availability).

→ Get the details on impact level to know which impact level is right for you.

Any cloud service provider (CSP) that wants to sell cloud products or services to U.S. federal agencies must be FedRAMP authorized.

→ Learn more to find out if FedRAMP is a good choice for your cloud-based business.

FedRAMP stands for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program; it standardizes the security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services used by U.S. federal agencies.

If you’re new to FedRAMP: The time required depends on how long it takes to implement your security controls. With Paramify’s living gap assessment dashboard, you can build your compliance roadmap and generate documents instantly with one click.

If you’re already FedRAMP authorized: It can take as little as 3.5 hours or up to a week.

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Yes! No one will help you transition to FedRAMP Rev 5 as affordably and painlessly as Paramify. Learn how you can make a seamless, inexpensive transition to Rev 5.

Yes, we offer this service and have provided it for many clients. Most of our customers, including those for whom we’ve ingested their SSP, have found that starting from scratch and adopting the full power of Risk Solutions was the better option.

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