AWS Application Operations (Ops/SecOps) Support | Federal Civilian

Federal civilian agencies operating cloud-based systems on AWS must balance mission delivery with ongoing operational and security responsibilities under FISMA and the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF). Once a system has achieved an Authorization to Operate (ATO), agencies are responsible for maintaining security posture, managing change, addressing vulnerabilities, and supporting continuous monitoring often with limited internal capacity or competing priorities.

Our AWS Application Operations (Ops/SecOps) Support service helps agencies sustain authorized cloud systems in a manner aligned with their risk tolerance, security maturity, and operational model. We provide flexible, supplemental support delivered by AWS trained and certified consultants that integrates with existing teams, tools, and governance processes rather than replacing them. Support can be scoped based on complexity of the application, level of current resourcing, and maturity of internal processes.

Sustaining Authorized AWS Systems

We support day-to-day application operations for AWS-hosted systems, focusing on stability, availability, cost efficiency, and controlled change. This includes assistance with issue triage, coordination of bug fixes and new features or enhancements, integration with existing ticketing and change management platforms, monitoring and optimizing spend, and support for other routine operational monitoring and activities. Our approach emphasizes predictability and transparency, helping agencies maintain confidence in system behavior as mission needs evolve.

Security Operations and Continuous Monitoring

Security operations are integrated into all aspects of this service. As a full-service information security consulting firm, we assist agencies with monitoring, vulnerability management, configuration oversight, and audit support in alignment with NIST RMF Step 6 (Monitor). This includes helping teams interpret and triage possible findings, identity and respond to incidents, track remediation activities, and maintain documentation needed to demonstrate ongoing compliance.

Our work is designed to align with AWS-native logging, monitoring, and security services, as well as agency-defined processes for continuous monitoring and reporting. We support both AWS solutions and integration with third-party SIEM tooling as needed to help address M-21-31 logging and audit requirements.

Operating Within Hybrid and Enterprise Environments

Federal cloud systems rarely operate in isolation. We support AWS applications that integrate with on-premises identity providers, enterprise services, shared general support systems (GSS), and common control providers. This includes coordinating changes, understanding inherited controls and system boundaries, and ensuring operational activities do not inadvertently introduce authorization or compliance risks.

Change Management and Lifecycle Alignment

As systems evolve, changes must be evaluated for both operational impact and authorization significance. We support agencies in managing changes in a controlled manner, helping teams assess whether updates constitute routine maintenance, require a change management process with documentation updates, or trigger a full security impact analysis and reassessment under NIST RMF. This service helps agencies avoid operational drift that can erode authorization posture over time.

Scalable, Modular Support Model

This service is intentionally modular and scalable. Agencies may engage for targeted Ops/SecOps support during periods of increased activity, as a bridge between pilots and full internal ownership, or as ongoing supplemental support for existing teams supporting advanced cloud and mission-critical systems. While commonly used following ATO or pilot operationalization, this offering can stand alone and is structured to adapt as agency needs change through custom scoping based on requirements and mission.

This service applies to systems hosted on AWS and AWS GovCloud (US) and commonly relates to AWS services used for monitoring, logging, configuration management, vulnerability management, and identity and access management.