Okay, so like, FISMA versus FedRAMP, right? Future of FISMA: Security Trends a Predictions . It can feel like alphabet soup sometimes, ya know? Its all about government security, but theyre not (exactly) the same thing. Lets try to untangle this a little bit.
FISMA, which stands for the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, is basically the law of the land. Its the big overarching framework that says all federal agencies and their contractors have to protect government information and systems. managed service new york Think of it as the kinda the rulebook for cybersecurity in the federal space. It doesnt tell you exactly how to do it, it just says, "Hey! Secure your stuff!" It lays out responsibilities, requires risk assessments, and all that jazz.
Now, FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) is more, like, a specific program designed to help achieve FISMA compliance when it comes to cloud services. See, FISMA says "secure it", but FedRAMP is like, "Okay, heres a standardized way to secure it in the cloud!" It sets a baseline for security controls and a process for authorizing cloud service providers (CSPs) to work with federal agencies.
So, if youre a CSP wanting to sell your cloud services to the government, you pretty much have to get FedRAMP authorized.
Think of it this way: FISMA is the law saying you need a seatbelt, and FedRAMP is a particular brand of really, really good seatbelt that the government trusts!
One isnt necessarily "better" than the other, theyre just different things. FISMA applies to everyone, FedRAMP specifically applies to cloud service providers working with the feds and it helps agencies meet FISMAs requirements when using those cloud services. Got it? I hope so!