FedRAMP High Continuous Monitoring & ConMon Automation SOP

1. Purpose & Scope

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) defines the operational cadence, tooling, and reporting workflows required to maintain an active Authority to Operate (ATO) under the FedRAMP High Baseline (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5). Continuous Monitoring (ConMon) ensures that Authorizing Officials (AOs) maintain continuous visibility into the risk posture of the Cloud Service Offering (CSO).

2. Monthly ConMon Deliverables Schedule

Day 1 - 5          Day 6 - 15           Day 16 - 22          Day 25
[ Authenticated ]   [ False Positive  ]   [ POA&M Update   ]   [ Transmit to   ]
[ Scans Run     ]-->[ Validation &    ]-->[ & Deviation    ]-->[ FedRAMP PMO & ]
[ All Assets    ]   [ Remediation     ]   [ Justification  ]   [ Authorizing AO]

3. Vulnerability Remediation SLAs

4. Automated POA&M Generation Pipeline

AgileFedTech leverages automated Python ETL scripts to ingest authenticated Tenable/Trivy scanner outputs and map CVEs directly into the official FedRAMP POA&M Microsoft Excel template:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
FedRAMP Automated POA&M Record Generator
Transforms raw scanner JSON into FedRAMP PMO Compliant Rows
"""
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def evaluate_cve(cve_entry):
    cvss = float(cve_entry.get("cvss_score", 0.0))
    discovery_date = datetime.strptime(cve_entry["discovered"], "%Y-%m-%d")
    
    if cvss >= 7.0:
        sla_days = 30
        severity = "High" if cvss < 9.0 else "Critical"
    elif cvss >= 4.0:
        sla_days = 90
        severity = "Moderate"
    else:
        sla_days = 180
        severity = "Low"
        
    scheduled_remediation = discovery_date + timedelta(days=sla_days)
    
    return {
        "poam_id": f"POA-{cve_entry['cve_id']}",
        "raw_severity": severity,
        "weakness_name": cve_entry["title"],
        "weakness_description": cve_entry["summary"],
        "scheduled_completion_date": scheduled_remediation.strftime("%Y-%m-%d"),
        "status": "Ongoing"
    }

5. Annual 3PAO Assessment Preparation Checklist

• Asset Inventory Reconciliation: Verify 100% concordance between AWS/Azure active instance inventories and the FedRAMP Integrated Inventory Workbook (IIW).
• Penetration Test Execution: Complete annual third-party external, internal, and lateral penetration testing adhering strictly to the FedRAMP Penetration Testing Guidance.
• Control Subset Testing: Complete full testing of all mandated annual core controls with an accredited 3PAO.
• Incident Response Tabletop: Conduct an annual joint tabletop exercise testing communications with US-CERT and agency customer leads.