Understanding FedRAMP Moderate Compliance in Atlassian Government Cloud

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What is FedRAMP and Why It Matters

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) provides standardized security assessments and authorizations for cloud services used by the federal government. Rather than each agency conducting its own assessment, FedRAMP creates a single, rigorous evaluation that multiple agencies can trust.

FedRAMP has three authorization levels based on data impact: Low (minimal damage if compromised), Moderate (sensitive unclassified data), and High (severe consequences if compromised). Atlassian Government Cloud holds FedRAMP Moderate authorization, suitable for agencies managing Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

What FedRAMP Moderate Actually Means

FedRAMP Moderate compliance is built on NIST SP 800-53 security controls covering access control, encryption, multi-factor authentication, audit logging, and incident response. Atlassian Government Cloud implements these controls and undergoes continuous monitoring—not just during initial approval—with regular vulnerability assessments, annual compliance reviews, and real-time security monitoring through a 24/7 Security Operations Center.

How Atlassian Government Cloud Implements It

Dedicated Infrastructure — Government Cloud resides primarily in AWS us-east-1 with selective components duplicated in us-west-2 for reliability, separate from commercial cloud with no data commingling.

What You Can Store

FedRAMP Moderate protects Controlled Unclassified Information including sensitive HR records, financial data, trade secrets, PII, and internal policy documents. Agencies can confidently use Government Cloud for project management (Jira Software), IT service management (Jira Service Management), documentation (Confluence), and cross-agency collaboration.

Note: Government Cloud is not suitable for classified information, which requires different compliance frameworks.

Shared Responsibility

Your agency remains responsible for configuration management, data classification, user access management, incident reporting, and system documentation. Atlassian handles infrastructure compliance, meaning you no longer manage on-premises compliance burden. This accelerates your agency's Authority to Operate (ATO) process and frees IT staff for mission-critical work.

Practical Benefits

Security Assurance — Independent federal assessment and continuous monitoring, not vendor claims.

Compliance Efficiency — Faster ATO processes since you leverage Atlassian's authorization rather than building from scratch.

Modern Capabilities — Access automation, analytics, and cloud-only features while maintaining compliance.

Cost Savings — Cloud compliance costs less than maintaining on-premises infrastructure and conducting annual assessments.

Reduced Risk — Continuous monitoring means vulnerabilities are identified and remediated quickly.

Key Takeaway

FedRAMP Moderate compliance in Atlassian Government Cloud enables federal agencies to adopt modern collaboration tools without compromising security. By understanding the framework—dedicated infrastructure, continuous monitoring, and shared responsibilities—government leaders can confidently modernize their operations while protecting mission-critical data.