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New cloud services and solutions are coming to market at a rapid pace – accelerating collaboration and productivity like never before – but that has left some Federal employees wondering: Can you use commercial cloud services with government devices? After all, the end user is typically the most vulnerable factor in securing IT infrastructure. Will commercial cloud access from a smartphone enable a wider data breach or cyberattack?

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, defines three distinct categorization levels to help government agencies and their supporting contractors implement the appropriate security controls required to protect U.S. government data. These levels – low, medium, and high – standardize an approach to the security of cloud products and cloud services across the federal sphere.

FISMA is one of the most crucial data security regulations to impact the U.S. government and its supporting contractors. Compliance ensures the federal systems that collect, circulate, and store data adhere to a set of standard safety and security controls. But if you’re an agency or organization subject to FISMA, how do you maintain compliance or check for non-compliance? It’s a meticulous process that can be broken down into seven component parts.

Government agencies and the organizations that service federal clients are bound by a set of compliance controls. Especially as it relates to the storage and transmission of sensitive data in a rapidly-expanding cloud environment, these standardized controls make it easier to evaluate the security posture of contractors and authorize their use within the federal sphere.

Agencies and programs within the U.S. government are prime targets for cyberattack. The federal government maintains data that is essential to the function of our nation, the security of our people, and the stability of our healthcare and financial markets. Any unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of this data could cause significant harm and disruption. 

As federal agencies and programs embrace an advanced cloud strategy, the need to establish a sound and tested disaster recovery plan is becoming even more crucial to mission success. Disaster recovery plans ensure data availability, business continuity, and reputational trust when a system interruption occurs. Nobody can predict exactly when a worst-case scenario will strike. A natural disaster, a compromised datacenter, or a system failure can come when you least expect it. That’s why a disaster recovery plan is a smart investment for savvy IT managers.