What Does It Mean to Have Government IT Compliance?

For local and state agencies to have government IT compliance, they adhere to the specific laws and regulations put in place by federal agencies and the United States government. For example, when referring to regulatory compliance for IT, the rules are typically regarding the government’s security and privacy standards, such as those outlined by FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Since the federal government is known to have the strictest IT compliance regulations, following their example of best practices ensures that you’ve met the most stringent and most comprehensive level of security requirements.

Government IT Compliance Goals

Complying with government IT regulations and even local laws continue to become more complex for companies and agencies as requirements change and technology evolves. Many regulations deal with data-related protection and security in information systems, as the White House has mandated that all federal agencies “take decisive steps to modernize its approach to cybersecurity… while protecting the privacy and civil liberties.” All government contractors must meet these regulatory requirements when granted their GSA Contract or FedRAMP certification. The compliance requirements for highly secure organizations like the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security are even more stringent; CSP companies working with them must, for example, comply with FedRAMP+ requirements when handling such sensitive government information.

Ethical Strategic IT Framework for Agencies

For state governments, county, and local agencies to develop an ethical strategic IT framework implementation for an existing or new site, the IT team must consider each policy guidance below. Each guidance  instructs companies and organizations to handle data protection and the sharing of personal information and sensitive data, including:

• • Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, requires all US public companies and their subsidiaries to meet compliance requirements by following specific standards that protect the public from corporate misrepresentation and company fraud.
    
    
  • Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS, focused on merchants and financial institutions whose operations handle sensitive information when processing credit card payments, ensuring the financial data privacy of every person.
    
    
  • FISMA is meant for US federal agencies to provide a secure environment to manage risks from cyber attacks in their IT systems.
    
    
  • California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA applies to all companies and organizations (including private companies) that process information on California residents, no matter the type of business or size. It provides privacy controls so residents can protect their identity and personal data.
    
    
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is designed for healthcare and insurance companies and associated organizations to ensure data protection of patients’ confidential health care information.

Understanding the specifics of these regulations, among others that may apply in specific states and industries, can help create an IT cloud framework that aligns with their intention ethically.

Concrete Roadmap for Technical Processes

To ensure that you’re on the right track to follow NIST and FISMA government IT compliance regulations for different public sectors and have the support of functional leadership, you will need to build a clear roadmap for your technical processes. Start by identifying your strategic priorities based on the delta between where your information systems are now and where you need to be for government compliance. Next, define your functional needs, risk management considerations, and priorities. With that information, you can estimate the cost. Then, establish timelines, and assign responsibilities.

Provide Government System Specific Best Practices and Guidelines

The Federal Government provides many best practices frameworks and guidelines to ensure that all public and private site data remains private and secure. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework, for instance, is a voluntary framework that manages cybersecurity risks through a series of standards, guidelines, and best practices. FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) was developed by NIST in accordance with FISMA to outline specific standards and guidelines for federal computer systems. FIPS itself has four levels of security which can apply to all federal government websites, including an official website.

Government IT Compliance Challenges

Government IT Compliance is challenging. While the federal government has committed to modernizing every section of its digital infrastructure and program services through the cloud at every federal government site, it recognizes that cybersecurity threats,  preventing unauthorized access, and protecting privacy loom large. As such, meeting the federal IT compliance standards can be challenging and time-consuming. Once completed, the process requires continuous monitoring to ensure that any breaches or errors are reported quickly and managed efficiently.

Department Education

When preparing your agency for government IT compliance, department education is critical. Educating your departments on the built-in government use-cases solutions can address challenges quickly and efficiently. The rules are complex and continue to change. As cybersecurity threats change, so do the government compliance regulations. Working with service providers who are already government-compliant is critical to easing the burden on your entire staff. Velosimo continues to expand its connected experience for government agencies by expanding its no-code integration marketplace.

Unauthorized Systems or Applications

Continuing to run unauthorized systems or applications eventually leads to problems that worsen over time. The cybersecurity threats alone make these systems a nightmare for risk management; every day they continue to run, your agency becomes more vulnerable to an attack that could cost millions if left exposed.

Outdated Processes and Poor Regulation Oversight

Part of the federal guidelines for IT compliance addresses the need for continuous monitoring by cloud service providers. When evaluating your existing IT infrastructure, do you see outdated processes and poor regulatory oversight? IT modernization doesn’t end. It means security, processes, and regulations must be constant and updated. All government agencies are expected to be diligent in protecting sensitive data and private information.

How Velosimo Can Help with Your IT Compliance

Velosimo brings value to every government agency, from local organizations to state agencies. Our focus is on connections. Secure connections that make your IT experience seamless and make your citizens’ experience frictionless. Our ever-expanding marketplace is specifically designed to provide connectors built for government organizations, creating predictable, consistent, and foolproof interoperable systems.

Government System Specific Integrations

Velosimo offers a growing number of off-the-shelf connectors prebuilt for specific government use-cases and system interoperability to make setup and usage easy. Once installed, the connectors create a frictionless user experience for staff and citizens.

No-Code Connectors

How easy is easy? Try no-code easy. This kind of setup is designed for business users to easily install, use and maintain service provider integrations across multiple areas of concern, from finance and payments to digital signatures.

Efficient and Seamless System Interoperability

Velosimo makes system interoperability seamless. Thanks to innovative recovery systems, it remains reliable, predictable, and foolproof and is efficient by eliminating double data entry and system redundancy. 

For more information about government IT compliance, get in touch with the experts at Velosimo today.