What is FedRAMP Moderate Equivalent and Do You Need It? ‍

FedRAMP Authorized vs FedRAMP Equivalent

What is FedRAMP Authorization

Authorization from the government’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program or FedRAMP demonstrates that your cloud service can secure sensitive government data.

To get authorized you must:

Find a government customer (called a sponsor)
Implement, document, and follow strict security procedures
Have a 3PAO (3rd party assessment organization) audit your security to ensure compliance with FedRAMP regulations
Get approval from the FedRAMP PMO (program management office).

What is FedRAMP Equivalence

Becoming FedRAMP equivalent allows you to sell your cloud services to the 300,000+ companies that sell physical products to the Department of Defense.

FedRAMP equivalence requires the same controls, documentation, and 3PAO assessment as FedRAMP moderate authorization.

How is FedRAMP equivalent different from authorization?

FedRAMP equivalent orgs don’t need to find a government sponsor – one of FedRAMP’s most time consuming hurdles.
Your final authorization will come from the DIBCAC (Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center) rather than the PMO.

Why Get FedRAMP Equivalence?

You’re required to be FedRAMP equivalent if you want to sell your cloud services to any of the 300k+ companies who sell products to the DoD. These companies make up the DIB (Defense Industrial Base).

FedRAMP equivalence (or authorization) is a must if you’re a CSP looking to sell to DIB members and your product would be used to store, send, or receive CUI.

Data that passes between the DoD and DIB members, and the data that goes from one DIB member to another is called CUI (controlled unclassified information). It’s considered sensitive, even though it’s not classified.

According to the December 2023 equivalency memo, DIB members are on the line for security practices of any SaaS they contract with. DIB members only contract with companies that have FedRAMP equivalence or moderate authorization to protect themselves and their sensitive data.

→ Get a free security gap assessment to identify what you need to become FedRAMP equivalent.

Pros & Cons of FedRAMP Equivalence

PROS

New revenue opportunities. Without FedRAMP Equivalence you might not be able to contract your SaaS products with any of the 300k companies in the DIB.
It strengthens your security posture. It’s never a bad idea to provide your customers with excellent security. NIST 800-53 controls, which is what FedRAMP uses, are the gold standard of security. This will provide your customers assurance that their data is safe.
Gives you an advantage with government agencies over competitors without FedRAMP. If you’re already equivalent, government agencies may choose you over unFedRAMPed competitors.

CONS

Any type of FedRAMP is pricey. Expect costs from $400k to $2 million. You’ll likely need to hire new employees to manage your security, buy hardware and software, and pay for 3PAO assessments.
FedRAMP is labor intensive and requires continual attention, called ConMon (continuous monitoring), to maintain your security and FedRAMP equivalent status.
You can’t sell directly to a government agency. If you do find a sponsor, you would already have FedRAMP moderate security controls in place so getting authorized should be fairly simple.

The Fastest way to Become FedRAMP Equivalent

get fedramp equivalent faster with paramify

Paramify makes FedRAMP equivalence easier by automating security planning, SSP generation and POA&M management.

You’ll need an SSP (system security plan) to be FedRAMP authorized or FedRAMP equivalent. An SSP is hundreds to thousands of pages that track your security controls.

You can automatically generate your FedRAMP Equivalent SSP in hours with Paramify. It’s more accurate, less expensive, and much easier.

Many companies waste hundreds of thousands of dollars writing their SSP(s) manually over months/years.

But you don't have to.

→ Sign up for a free demo to see a preview of your automated ATO package

Benefits of Creating A Digital SSP With Paramify

Becoming FedRAMP equivalent is faster, easier and less expensive when you use Paramify.

There are other services that can speed up the SSP process, but Paramify is the only software that fully automates your SSP.

Your Automated SSP is

Easy to create
Generated in hours
More accurate
Likely to move through audit/assessment faster
Much less expensive
Available in a human readable and OSCAL-based digital versions‍

→ Check out our pricing to see if Paramify is right for your budget.

Security Benefits of the Paramify Approach

When you pursue any type of FedRAMP with Paramify you start with excellent security strategy and planning. This security 1st approach enables better overall security.

A math problem that starts wrong will always end up wrong.

We’ll help you set your security up right from the start so your security stays top notch.

Build Your Security Plan and Get Your Automated SSP

Now that you know the basics of FedRAMP you can decide if it’s the best decision for your company.

Ready to get started? Schedule your free Paramify demo or reach out with any questions – our team loves to help.

Want to see Paramify in action first? Request a demo video below:

Learn More:

Becki Johnson

Oct 2024

Once authorized, can I sell to any federal agency?

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

How is FedRAMP 20x different from traditional FedRAMP?

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

→ Compare KSIs to Rev 5 controls

What are the most common reasons for delays or failures in FedRAMP authorization?

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

What's the difference between FedRAMP and other frameworks (SOC 2, CMMC, ISO 27001)?

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

How do inherited controls from my cloud infrastructure provider (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) work?

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

What kind of technical controls are required under FedRAMP?

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

How often do I need to update and submit security documentation?

At minimum:

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

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What is a POA&M?

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

→ Learn more about POAMs

What is continuous monitoring (ConMon) and why is it important?

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

What documentation is required for FedRAMP?

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.

Do I need an agency sponsor?

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

How do I pick the best 3PAO for my project?

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

→ Find the best assessor for your CSP with these tips

What is a 3PAO?

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

→ Find a recommended 3PAO

How much does FedRAMP Authorization cost?

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

How long does it take to achieve FedRAMP Authorization?

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.

What’s the difference between FedRAMP Ready, FedRAMP In Process, and FedRAMP Authorized?

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.

What are the different impact levels for FedRAMP?

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.

Do You Need FedRAMP?

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.

What is FedRAMP

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.

How long will it take to generate my SSP?

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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Can you help me transition from NIST 800-53 Rev 4 to Rev 5?

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.

Can I use my existing SSP?

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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