Statement by GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan on OMB’s guidance on accelerating the secure adoption of cloud services

July 26, 2024

Guidance streamlines the federal government’s approach to cloud security 

WASHINGTON – The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued updated Federal Risk and Authorization Program (FedRAMP) guidance today that finalizes its October 2023 draft memorandum to modernize the FedRAMP program. See OMB’s fact sheet for more details.

“This highly anticipated guidance further equips GSA to make it safe and easy for federal agencies to deploy state-of-the-art technology to deliver better service to the American people,,” said Administrator Robin Carnahan. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to realizing the promise of FedRAMP to streamline the process of bringing great tech into government, so that agencies can deliver more effectively for the American people. This guidance will accelerate GSA’s roadmap for FedRAMP and create a stronger foundation for FedRAMP to meet its mission of empowering agencies to deliver better, safer government services.”

The updated guidance outlines a new FedRAMP model, including additional paths to authorization, that speed up and strengthen the authorization process and enable agencies to adopt more emerging and effective cloud tools to perform critical work.

Since its establishment in 2011, FedRAMP has operated by partnering with agencies and third-party assessors to identify appropriate cloud products and services, evaluate those cloud products and services against a common baseline of security controls, and create authorization packages that agency authorizing officials can use to make informed, risk-based, and efficient decisions concerning the use of those cloud products and services.

In March, GSA released the FedRAMP Roadmap, FedRAMP’s vision and set of priorities over time that is focused on security, customer experience, and growing the trusted FedRAMP marketplace. In June, GSA released the final Emerging Technology (ET) Prioritization Framework for how FedRAMP will prioritize emerging tech, beginning with generative AI. 

For more information about FedRAMP, please visit fedramp.gov.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing about $100 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.