RiskWatch
Federal · State · Local · Tribal · Education

ATO in 6 months, not 18.

Traditional FedRAMP authorization runs 12–18 months. FedRAMP 20x (Phase 3 wide adoption H2 2026) compresses it with OSCAL automation. RiskWatch produces OSCAL-ready packages day 1 — SSP, SAP, SAR, POAM — and runs the RMF 6-step pipeline alongside ConMon on the same controls library.

  • NIST 800-53 r5 · FedRAMP Low/Mod/High baselines
  • RMF 6-step ATO pipeline · POAM tracking
  • FedRAMP 20x ready · OSCAL machine-readable packages
  • GovRAMP (StateRAMP rebrand) for state + local agencies
Start 30-day free trialWatch 4-min platform tour
No credit card · OSCAL export ships day 1
NIST RMF · 6-step ATO pipeline
FedRAMP Moderate · 323 controls · in flight
Step 3 of 6 · 3PAO review in progress · 92 days to AO target
Categorize·Week 1–2
FIPS 199 impact rating · system boundary defined
Complete
Select·Week 2–4
Control baseline picked · tailoring rationale captured
Complete
3
Implement·Month 2–6
Controls deployed · SSP authored · evidence gathered
In progress
4
Assess·Month 6–9
3PAO review · SAR + POAM produced
Pending
5
Authorize·Month 9–12
AO signs ATO based on residual risk
Pending
6
Monitor·Continuous
ConMon · monthly POAM updates · annual reauth
Pending
Authorization timeline modeled · POAM live12–18 months → 6 months with automation
What it is

What is risk management software for government?

ATO timelines are the difference between landing the contract and missing it. FedRAMP 20x (Phase 3 wide adoption H2 2026) compresses 12–18 months to ~6 months, but only with OSCAL-ready evidence. RiskWatch ships SSP / SAP / SAR / POAM as machine-readable packages, models the ~44% of controls inherited from your CSP (your team writes 71 SSP sections, not 323), and runs the RMF 6-step pipeline as one workflow. Federal, state (GovRAMP), CJIS, and IRS Pub 1075 on the same library.

Why agencies move to RiskWatch

ATO velocity is the differentiator. Everything else is overhead.

Traditional ATO timelines are the single biggest barrier between government and modern software. FedRAMP 20x changes the math — but only for vendors whose evidence pipeline is automation-ready. Here's where most teams stall.

Pain #1

ATO took 18 months. The mission moved 18 months ago.

Traditional FedRAMP authorization runs 12–18 months on average — by the time the ATO drops, the system requirements have shifted. FedRAMP 20x (Phase 3 wide adoption H2 2026) compresses this with OSCAL automation, but only if your evidence pipeline is OSCAL-ready on day 1. Machine-readable SSP, automated POAM, ConMon-ready evidence vault, 6 months to authorization instead of 18.

Pain #2

Every control treated as customer responsibility. 90% are inherited.

FedRAMP Moderate has 323 controls. Run on AWS GovCloud / Azure Gov / Google Gov and roughly 44% are inherited from the CSP outright; another 30% are shared. Most teams scope all 323 as their own SSP work and burn quarters re-implementing what the FedRAMP-authorized boundary already provides. Customer Responsibility Matrix per CSP · inherited / shared / customer / overlay split surfaced per control · OSCAL export.

Pain #3

FedRAMP for federal. GovRAMP for state. CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, StateRAMP overlays on top.

State and local agencies adopting cloud face the same NIST 800-53 baseline plus jurisdiction-specific overlays — CJIS for law enforcement, IRS Pub 1075 for tax data, agency-specific FISMA implementations. StateRAMP rebranded to GovRAMP in 2026. Single 800-53 controls library, multiple overlay packages, one ATO package authoring tool — federal and state running on the same pipeline.

Control inheritance

Stop scoping every control as customer responsibility.

Run on AWS GovCloud / Azure Government / Google Gov and ~44% of FedRAMP Moderate's 323 controls are inherited from the CSP outright. ~30% are shared. Your team writes ~71 SSP sections, not 323. The Customer Responsibility Matrix is auto-generated and 3PAOs see exactly which controls you own.

  • Per-CSP inheritance maps — AWS GovCloud, Azure Gov, Google Gov, Oracle Gov — auto-applied to your boundary
  • Shared-control split documented — for each shared control, the CSP + customer split is captured per CRM
  • Overlay support — CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, agency-specific FISMA implementations layered on top of 800-53
  • OSCAL component definitions — machine-readable inheritance metadata exported per FedRAMP 20x requirements
Control inheritance · FedRAMP Moderate · 323 controls
44% inherited. 22% your work. Stop scoping every control as yours.
Customer responsibility matrix · per-control inheritance source
Inherited from CSP142 · 44%
AWS GovCloud / Azure Gov / Google Gov FedRAMP-authorized boundary
e.g. PE-1, PE-3, MA-2, CP-7, AC-2(a) infra portion
Shared (CSP + customer)98 · 30%
Both parties contribute · responsibility matrix documents the split
e.g. AC-2 account mgmt, AU-3 audit content, IR-4 incident handling
Customer responsibility71 · 22%
Application-layer controls · custom code, app config, business logic
e.g. AC-7 unsuccessful logon, SC-7 boundary protection (app), IA-2
Custom overlay12 · 4%
Agency-specific tailoring · CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, ITAR, etc.
e.g. Agency policy overlays · workflow-specific controls
Customer Responsibility Matrix · OSCAL-readyYour team writes 71 SSP sections, not 323.
NIST RMF · 6-step ATO pipeline
FedRAMP Moderate · 323 controls · in flight
Step 3 of 6 · 3PAO review in progress · 92 days to AO target
Categorize·Week 1–2
FIPS 199 impact rating · system boundary defined
Complete
Select·Week 2–4
Control baseline picked · tailoring rationale captured
Complete
3
Implement·Month 2–6
Controls deployed · SSP authored · evidence gathered
In progress
4
Assess·Month 6–9
3PAO review · SAR + POAM produced
Pending
5
Authorize·Month 9–12
AO signs ATO based on residual risk
Pending
6
Monitor·Continuous
ConMon · monthly POAM updates · annual reauth
Pending
Authorization timeline modeled · POAM live12–18 months → 6 months with automation
RMF 6-step pipeline

Categorize → Select → Implement → Assess → Authorize → Monitor. All in one tool.

Most agencies run RMF Step 1 (Categorize) in one tool, Step 3 (Implement) in another, and Step 6 (Monitor) in a third. The handoffs lose evidence. RiskWatch keeps the entire RMF lifecycle on one controls library — the same SSP that drove your initial ATO drives ConMon, and the POAM updates flow back into the next reauthorization automatically.

Step-by-step time-in-step metrics surface where packages stall — typically the 3PAO assessment phase. Pre-stage SAR-ready evidence so the 3PAO walks in with everything they need.

See your ATO timeline modeled
Our 3PAO walked in with the SAR pre-staged. ATO landed at month seven instead of month seventeen.
RM
Robert M.
CISO · State of [redacted] DOT · 2,400 employees
ATO timeline
7 mo
↓ from 17 mo
SSP sections written
↓ 78%
after CSP inheritance
POAM closure rate
↑ 3×
with ConMon evidence
Gov Pack · 52 pages
Government
FedRAMP 20x + GovRAMP Pack
PDF · 52 pages · OSCAL-aligned

Government Compliance Pack

NIST 800-53 r5 baseline templates (Low / Moderate / High), the FedRAMP 20x SSP outline, GovRAMP authorization checklist, control-inheritance worksheets per major CSP, the RMF 6-step playbook, and the OSCAL component-definition template.

  • NIST 800-53 r5 Low/Mod/High baselines
  • FedRAMP 20x + GovRAMP packages
  • Customer Responsibility Matrix templates
  • OSCAL component-definition template
Get the pack

Looking for the broader compliance-frameworks crosswalk? Find it on the compliance frameworks hub.

FAQ

Common questions, answered up front.

About NIST 800-53, FedRAMP 20x, GovRAMP, FISMA, control inheritance, OSCAL, and the RMF 6-step process.

What is risk management software for government?
Risk management software for government helps federal agencies, federal contractors, state agencies (StateRAMP / GovRAMP), and cloud service providers pursuing federal authorization operate the NIST Risk Management Framework end-to-end. RiskWatch covers NIST 800-53 r5 baselines (Low / Moderate / High), FedRAMP authorization (including the 2026 FedRAMP 20x modernized pathway), GovRAMP for state and local government, FISMA reporting, CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, and agency-specific overlays — all on a single controls library with OSCAL-ready evidence export.
How does the platform support FedRAMP 20x?
FedRAMP 20x (the modernized authorization pathway with Phase 3 wide adoption expected H2 2026) emphasizes OSCAL machine-readable packages, automated continuous monitoring, and faster review timelines — all built around the principle that authorization should compress from 12–18 months to roughly 6 months. RiskWatch produces OSCAL-formatted SSP, SAP, SAR, and POAM packages out of the box, runs continuous monitoring against the same control library that produced the SSP, and tracks the FedRAMP 20x phase rollout per cloud service offering.
What is GovRAMP and how does it differ from FedRAMP?
GovRAMP is the 2026 rebrand of StateRAMP — the state and local government version of FedRAMP. Both share NIST 800-53 r5 as the underlying control standard, but the authorizing body differs (FedRAMP PMO for federal, the GovRAMP authorization body for state and local), and the GovRAMP scope expands to local, tribal, and educational government buyers. RiskWatch maintains both authorization templates against the same controls library — score once for 800-53, choose the authorization track at submission time.
How does control inheritance work in the platform?
Every NIST 800-53 control in your SSP is tagged with its inheritance source: inherited from the CSP (~44% on FedRAMP-authorized clouds), shared CSP+customer (~30%), customer responsibility (~22%), or custom overlay (CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, agency-specific tailoring, ~4%). The Customer Responsibility Matrix is auto-generated per CSP and 3PAOs see exactly which controls your team owns vs. which are inherited — no overstating scope, no understating coverage.
Does the platform handle the RMF 6-step process?
Yes. The full NIST RMF — Categorize (FIPS 199), Select (baseline tailoring), Implement (control deployment), Assess (3PAO review producing SAR), Authorize (AO signs ATO based on residual risk), and Monitor (continuous monitoring with monthly POAM updates) — is modeled as the platform's primary workflow. The ATO pipeline view shows where every system stands in the 6-step lifecycle, time-in-step metrics, and which step packages are stalled in.
How does this work for agencies that aren't pursuing FedRAMP?
FedRAMP applies to cloud services serving federal agencies. State agencies, federal civilian agencies running on-prem, and federal contractors handling CUI use the same NIST 800-53 baseline (or NIST 800-171 for CUI on contractor systems) without going through FedRAMP authorization. RiskWatch handles all three: FedRAMP / GovRAMP authorization workflow, agency FISMA reporting, and NIST 800-171 CUI compliance — same controls library, different authorization paths.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The 30-day free trial includes full access — NIST 800-53 r5 baselines, FedRAMP / GovRAMP authorization workflows, OSCAL export, RMF pipeline, control inheritance modeling, POAM tracking, and the ConMon evidence vault. You can run a real readiness assessment against a system before purchasing.

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SF Housing Authority
State of Idaho
TVA
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