In cybersecurity and compliance, terms like “framework” and “regulations” are often used interchangeably. As such, non-specialists might struggle to understand how different guidelines and regulatory bodies fit together to support cybersecurity. For example, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) provides several documents outlining guidelines and compliance requirements. However, in terms of larger frameworks, it provides two major examples: the Risk Management Framework (RMF) and the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).

This article will cover the latter of these two, how they fit into government-sponsored cybersecurity concerns and what that means for your organization. 

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Working with federal agencies can be a big boon for enterprise and SMB service providers. Not only are they working in a lucrative and challenging space, but they can also provide critical infrastructural support to the operation and defense of our country. The regulations, however, can prove a nightmare. For example, should you adhere to FISMA vs. FedRAMP? What is NIST? Who can I work with to help me get started? 

Here, we’ll answer one of the more basic and important questions: What is the difference between FedRAMP and FISMA authorization? Depending on the type of services you offer, you could be working through a set of similar, yet slightly modified, regulatory obligations. 

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Major infrastructure in the United States is under attack. As more heavy industrial companies, defense contractors and government agencies increasingly rely on cloud platforms and IT solutions to serve their users and constituents, hackers are finding ways to leverage vulnerabilities and steal information. 

The problem with these attacks is that they are taking advantage of the fact that a flaw in a cloud platform can undermine security with a completely unrelated company or industry. As we’ve learned from the SolarWinds hack, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and now the LineStar attack, a single flaw in a cloud platform can open up critical energy production and manufacturing operations to being held hostage for millions of dollars in ransom.

Ransomware isn’t just a consumer issue. Here, we cover the state of ransomware in 2021 and how different organizations are responding to the problem.

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