FedRAMP Security Standards now available for all U.S. Azure Cloud Regions

Microsoft last week announced FedRAMP High impact level and extended FedRAMP High Provisional Authorization to Operate (P-ATO) support to all of our Azure public regions in the United States.

What is FedRAMP?

A US government-wide program, FedRAMP, stands for Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) t provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. It is advised that Federal Agencies, all federal departments and offices comply with FedRAMP before using any cloud systems to process, transmit, or store Government information. FedRAMP is based on the NIST SP 800-53r4, the standard for security control frameworks.

Thus, it is now possible for US Federal agencies to host applications and use cloud services at any region of Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing regions in the United States.

Executive Opinion

In a blog post, General Manager, Azure Global, Lily Kim , said, "Achieving FedRAMP High means that both Azure public and Azure Government data centres and services meet the demanding requirements of FedRAMP High, making it easier for more federal agencies to benefit from the cost savings and rigorous security of the Microsoft Commercial Cloud."

More on FedRAMP at Azure

FedRAMP High was available only to customers using Azure Government, however, it is now extended to Azure public cloud and services across all US regions. Latest FedRAMP services roadmap for Azure Commercial Services in DoD SRG Level 2 and FedRAMP Moderate Audit Scope is also updated in May 2019.

Azure now supports 91 compliance offerings, more than any other cloud service provider. Azure continues to add more services at FedRAMP High impact levels than any other cloud provider, the announcement said.