Automating SSPs, SARs, and POA&Ms with OSCAL

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FedRAMP is at the center of the federal mandate on cloud technology, offering a standardized approach for assessing, authorizing, and continuously monitoring these services across agencies. But even with a mature framework, FedRAMP processes can be time-consuming and document-heavy.

This is where the Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) comes in. This transformative initiative introduces machine-readable reporting for security documentation, enabling the automation of reports. For cloud service providers, Third-Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs), and federal stakeholders, adopting OSCAL is becoming essential for staying ahead in the compliance lifecycle.

 

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Preparing for FedRAMP OSCAL-Based Assessments

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FedRAMP has become the gold standard for securing cloud services used by U.S. federal agencies. With the introduction of the Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL), FedRAMP assessments are transforming toward automation, consistency, and scalability. 

OSCAL-based mastering evaluations are critical for organizations pursuing FedRAMP authorization. They streamline compliance efforts and reduce time to market. This article provides a detailed roadmap for experts preparing for OSCAL-driven FedRAMP assessments, covering technical workflows, tooling, and strategic considerations.

 

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What Is the Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL)?

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There’s recently been a push within FedRAMP towards modernizing the framework to meet modern security challenges and better align federal security standards across agencies and technologies. 

Part of this push is standardizing how security controls are measured and assessed, and the most recent blog from FedRAMP mentions a new standard–OSCAL. 

Here, we will discuss OSCAL, why the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is creating it to address assessments, and how we streamline them. 

 

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