Page 138 - Cyber Defense eMagazine Special RSA Conference Annual Edition for 2022

With over 325 security controls verified by third-party auditors, agencies can have confidence in their
FedRAMP Moderate tools to ensure the protection of sensitive information and compliance with any zero
trust architecture.

In every department, at every level, both internally and externally, signatures are required to keep track
of approval processes and decision making. In the modern, hybrid world, paper signatures are no longer
feasible, and government agencies should not be trapped in the past because their security standards
are inherently stricter.

Digital signatures can be used for things like government benefits applications, healthcare forms, and
other documents that are part of higher-value, higher-risk, or strictly regulated processes. A FedRAMP
Moderate digital signature solution eases the signing experiences for employees and constituents,
meaning public interactions can have the speed, ease, and security that modern government requires.

The modern government mindset

Additionally, an inevitable factor in the conversation around IT modernization in the federal government
is interoperability. With over 100 federal agencies, it is crucial that any new tools integrate seamlessly
with existing software and function effectively across agencies.

When considering the capacity for interoperability and integration in federal agencies, digital signature
solutions should be compatible with personal ID verification (PIV) cards, common access cards (CAC)
and mobile credentials.

When prioritizing efficiency, solutions capable of wrapping document creation, signature capture,
tracking, and archiving into a consolidated secure workflow are preferable as they relieve agency
employees from the burden of double and triple checking if their documents and download credentials
comply with agency rules.

Achieving digital transformation goals, zero trust architecture, and cross-agency collaboration should not
be viewed as competing priorities. In fact, the three should be understood as part of the same, modern
government mindset. With the right digital signature tool, agencies can satisfy a component of all these
objectives at once.

While digitization tools can unlock unprecedented capabilities for government, protecting citizen and
agency data is critical. Agency IT leaders should seek out FedRAMP certified solutions that can enable
them to work effectively in a digital world, without compromising on security.

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