Tag: ATO

In this blog post, we’ll delve into Socure’s journey of building a FedRAMP-compliant cloud infrastructure from the ground up that uses a comprehensive suite of AWS services, enhanced by key third-party tools such as Sumo Logic, Istio, Terraform, and Trend Micro, to create a modern, secure, scalable, and compliant cloud infrastructure architecture right from Day 1.

When it comes to messaging, government users often default to apps already loaded on their phones—whether their devices are personal or government-issued and whether the apps are approved or not. This blog post will explain why consumer messaging apps are a bad choice and why Amazon Web Services (AWS) Wickr is an appropriate solution for US government customers.

What do AWS public sector customers need to know about the State Risk and Authorization Management Program (StateRAMP) and how can you use AWS to help meeting StateRAMP requirements? In this blog post, learn a quick recap on what StateRAMP is and how it differs from the similar Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). 

Since signing a framework agreement with the Government of Canada (GC) in 2019, AWS has developed an open source solution to automate the deployment of security controls for GC customers, which can reduce the time it takes to achieve an Authority to Operate (ATO). Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) used this solution to implement their cloud landing zone controls aligned with the Protected B, Medium Integrity, Medium Availability (PBMM) profile. They worked with AWS Partner Kainos to complete an ATO evidence package in only 60 days—a process that typically takes 18 months.

Government departments work hard to meet required security framework controls for cloud services, and obtaining an Authority to Operate (ATO) can sometimes take up to 18 months. To assist with this process, AWS developed the open-source AWS Secure Environment Accelerator (ASEA), a tool designed to help deploy and operate secure multi-account AWS environments. This post describes how government departments can more simply deploy a web application consisting of a single-page application (SPA), backend API, and database within ASEA.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) added more AWS services to its assessment of the AWS Canada (Central) Region, bringing the total number of assessed AWS services to 120. This provides Canadian public sector customers additional confidence that AWS Cloud services meet the Government of Canada’s security control requirements. Using these services in conjunction with the deployment of the open source AWS Secure Environment Accelerator (ASEA) solution reduces cloud service configuration time from months to days.

Internal Revenue Service Publication 1075 (IRS 1075) provides guidance for US government agencies, agents, and contractors that access Federal Tax Information (FTI), to make sure they use policies, practices, controls, and safeguards to protect FTI confidentiality and integrity of FTI throughout its lifecycle. Safeguarding FTI is critical to agencies that receive, process, store or transmit FTI. AWS and AWS Partner programs enable agencies to protect FTI and the confidential relationship between the taxpayer and the IRS.

Government agencies have accelerated their transition to the cloud over the last few years, and COVID-19 has accelerated the urgency and pace of that move. A benefit of moving to the cloud is increased security. But to realize this, new infrastructure must be implemented and managed correctly, using best practices and the right technologies. Working with our partners, AWS has helped dozens of solutions accelerate their FedRAMP authorizations. There are more than 100 FedRAMP-authorized solutions running on AWS.

This morning, vice president of AWS worldwide public sector Teresa Carlson kicked off the AWS Public Sector Summit Online. Teresa reflected on the challenging times during these past few months, shared key trends and lessons learned and spoke about AWS’s commitment to helping people around the world continue to deliver on their missions. In her keynote address, Teresa highlighted AWS customers’ impressive global efforts and how AWS is helping support those customers’ missions. She also shared the latest news and announcements, resources, and more. Here’s what you missed.

Cloud security at AWS is the highest priority. AWS customers benefit from a data center and network architecture built to meet the requirements of the most security-sensitive organizations. We listen closely to our customers to offer both a secure cloud computing environment and innovative security services that satisfy the security and compliance needs of the most risk-sensitive organizations.