Secure State and Local Cloud Modernization Efforts

Prisma Cloud Achieves StateRAMP Authorized Status

In its commitment to be the state and local government's cybersecurity partner of choice, Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks has achieved StateRAMP Authorized status, providing unparalleled security for modernization efforts leveraging cloud infrastructure.

Understanding State & Local Cloud Security Needs

Cyberthreats to public sector infrastructure are proliferating at an alarming rate. State and local government agencies, schools, transportation systems and hospitals are being hit with a constant barrage of attacks through ransomware and other techniques launched by bad actors.

As many in the public sector are taking increasing advantage of cloud technologies, even as cyberattacks rise across local and state governments, it’s critical to ensure that the cloud infrastructures of those organizations meet appropriate security standards. This is especially important as states continue to look for better accountability in their cybersecurity.

What Is StateRAMP?

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, otherwise known as FedRAMP, provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring of digital assets for federal government users. The State Risk and Authorization Management Program (StateRAMP) now joins that program in authorizing cloud technologies to protect participating state, local and education agencies.

StateRAMP is a non-profit organization focused on developing standards and setting a baseline for security controls in the cloud. Established in 2020, StateRAMP verifies that approved software and cloud offerings used by state and local governments comply with the baseline parameters informed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Becoming a StateRAMP member allows service providers to leverage their verified IaaS, PaaS and SaaS solutions across multiple government contracts.

The Importance of StateRAMP

With StateRAMP, government entities no longer need to spend time or money conducting their own security audits. When engaging with a vendor, they can focus on finding a solution that meets their needs, confident that the vendor is cleared as a viable and trusted security partner.

Securing Critical Modernization Efforts

An example of an important modernization effort under StateRAMP is the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS).

Cloud computing provides MMIS with a host of opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, leverage technological advancements, and elevate the quality of care and service delivery within the Medicaid program. In addition to providing scalable infrastructure resources and enabling operational efficiency to adapt to changing demands, cloud platforms offer robust data storage and processing capabilities, which enhance analytics, reporting, and decision-making.

Cloud-based solutions also foster collaboration and connectivity among different Medicaid stakeholders—including state agencies, healthcare providers, and beneficiaries—leading to streamlined processes, improved communication, and enhanced coordination of care.

Transitioning to the cloud presents a new landscape of security challenges for MMIS, however—challenges that can’t be addressed with legacy security solutions.

With stringent regulatory requirements and the increased drive to safeguard sensitive healthcare data, the need for a platformized approach to security is imperative.

Prisma Cloud provides state and local government agencies with the necessary tools to see who has access to critical data assets, assign data owners, and create accountability for security and compliance. Additionally, the platform provides security teams with full visibility into all of their cloud assets and simplifies compliance reporting, maintaining support for more than 75 compliance standards enabled with one-click, audit-ready reporting.

Prisma Cloud Is Committed to Securing the Cloud Environments of State & Local Governments

Prisma Cloud’s preventative, platform approach to security enhances the cybersecurity resilience of state and local government organizations.

Unlike siloed security measures that are time consuming to manage and make it impossible to achieve comprehensive visibility into high-risk threats, Prisma Cloud’s Code to Cloud^TM platform enables organizations to consistently apply security best practices throughout the entire cloud-native application lifecycle.

Prisma Cloud’s single-risk engine connects powerful insights, identifying attack paths and tracing security weaknesses back to their origin, ensuring that state and local government agencies can prevent breaches and reduce risks in near real time.

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about how Prisma Cloud can secure sensitive data, ensure compliance and protect applications from code to cloud, register for an upcoming bootcamp.