StateRAMP to GovRAMP

The State Risk and Authorization Management Program, also known as StateRAMP, is slated to rebrand itself to “GovRAMP” later this year to more accurately reflect the entire scope of the nonprofit’s mission and support the “whole-of-state” approach to cybersecurity. 

StateRAMP, which authorizes cloud service cybersecurity for state government (like its counterpart FedRAMP at the federal level), wants its use and applicability to other layers of government to be more apparent and addresses the fact that many cloud service providers do business across several government sectors. To date, StateRAMP has been adopted by 27 states. For reference, StateRAMP and GovRAMP will remain synonymous, as some states will foreseeably continue to use the original name throughout policies and documents.

The changes to StateRAMP come at a time when the new administration is prioritizing the adoption of innovative technologies such as AI to make threat detection and response more efficient. Ongoing geopolitical security threats, including cyber espionage and intellectual property theft, for example, are spurring considerable concern around safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure. The geopolitical uncertainty has led to encouragement around adopting a Zero Trust framework and bolstering cybersecurity posture through a “whole of state” approach to security involving collaboration with all layers of government.

In the last few days of his presidential term, President Biden issued an EO intending to create a national cybersecurity strategy across federal agencies, private businesses and critical infrastructure sectors. This EO is still in effect and anticipated to support the new administration’s cybersecurity strategy which is largely built upon the same foundational principles we have seen over the last decade.

Enhancing cybersecurity regulatory harmonization has also been top of mind for government leaders and is a top federal advocacy priority for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) this year. The hope is to eliminate disparate regulations at the federal level and streamline the compliance guidelines to avoid potential confusion. 

As we continue into 2025, we can expect cybersecurity priorities to reflect efforts towards the creation of a synergistic approach to security involving all layers of government and a willingness to collaborate on policy, regulations and guidance.

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About the Author: Yvonne Maffia is the senior analyst covering state, local and education markets. She applies insights and analysis to purchasing trends to help vendors and partners shorten their sales cycles. Prior to joining TD SYNNEX Public Sector, Yvonne spent 8 years working in state and local government, where she oversaw advisory boards across the State of Florida and served as an analyst to a local politician. Yvonne currently lives in Washington, DC.