As federal agencies accelerate IT modernization efforts, moving workloads to the cloud offers significant benefits. These include cost reduction, increased agility, scalability, enhanced security and improved collaboration.
Indeed, a recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Federal Cloud Policy entitled Faster to the Cloud underscores the urgency for U.S. government agencies to expedite cloud adoption. The report warns that federal agencies are behind when compared with private-sector advancements, posing risks to cybersecurity and citizen service delivery.
To catch up with the private sector, federal agencies must navigate complex issues such as integrating legacy systems, overcoming resistance to change, managing sensitive data, addressing security vulnerabilities, avoiding vendor lock-in and meeting strict compliance and regulatory mandates. In addition, agencies must nail down the complex shared responsibility models between cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers, contractors and government organizations.
As a result, data protection and effective recovery strategies have never been more critical given the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. Fortunately, Rubrik’s data security capabilities can help your agency conquer the hurdles of cloud security and adoption so you can reap the clear benefits of modernization.
Beyond Legacy
As the report points out, the current federal IT spending model is particularly problematic because federal agencies dedicate more than 75% of their budgets to maintaining outdated legacy systems. These systems are costly, inefficient and less secure. As a result, the commission recommends several strategic approaches that would move agencies away from legacy solutions and towards cloud adoption:
Streamline cloud governance and approval processes
Include mandatory cybersecurity requirements in cloud contracts
Adopt zero-trust security architectures
Consolidate cloud services for smaller agencies and reduce the number of federal data centers
Modernize and streamline funding and procurement methods
Use cloud computing as a foundational technology for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption
In response to the pressing need for federal digital transformation, Rubrik Security Cloud - Government (RSC-G) provides a holistic approach to data backup and resiliency across multi and hybrid cloud environments. Working with Rubrik can reduce risk by adding standardized backup and recovery procedures across each and every workload in every cloud—improving cost operational efficiencies while increasing resilience.
Rubrik seamlessly backs up, protects and moves data across cloud environments, SaaS applications and on-premises infrastructures. Our cloud-agnostic approach ensures that agencies can manage their data regardless of location, whether in a traditional data center or a modern cloud deployment. Rubrik helps navigate the complexities of diverse environments through a single interface, enabling government agencies to transition to the cloud and effectively manage risks.
Government agencies maintain full control over their data
RSC-G and the standard Rubrik Security Cloud (RSC) function as a control plane, serving as a SaaS application. Most importantly, we do not store sensitive agency or user data within this environment. Instead, we focus on collecting and analyzing metadata, providing an interface for users while ensuring that the actual data remains within the user’s environment.
Agencies are not required to transfer all their data to us, which differentiates our approach. This allows them to maintain full control over their data, whether on physical hardware where our software operates or in another secure location. Moreover, our architecture identifies the most seamless, cost-effective and secure data backup and storage methods.
Federal agencies must adopt a zero-trust framework to mitigate risks.
According to the CSIS Cloud Commission report, federal agencies can expand “zero trust” architectures to strengthen cloud security. Zero trust uses security design models that assume no entity, inside or outside a network, is trusted by default. This approach requires every request for access to be continuously verified, making cloud adoption more secure.
Our solution adopts the zero-trust principle of "verify, then trust.” It is inherently designed with many government-defined zero-trust concepts in mind. This unique structure helps mitigate risks associated with compromised accounts and supports organizations in transitioning to and from the cloud. By incorporating numerous safeguards and adhering to zero-trust architecture requirements that the government actively pursues, we significantly reduce the risks for agencies as they adopt cloud solutions.
Failsafe mechanisms help you maintain continuity during cyber incidents
RSC-G also plays crucial roles in cybersecurity, offering ransomware detection and automated threat response. If an incident occurs in one environment, data can be archived in another, allowing agencies to reconstitute and recover quickly. This built-in failsafe mechanism helps federal agencies maintain operational continuity and minimize risks typically associated with cyber threats.
In addition to security, compliance remains a top priority. RSC-G is designed to meet stringent federal regulations, including the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and FedRAMP, reducing the burden of compliance management.
By automating data protection processes, Rubrik enhances security and optimizes cost efficiency. This automation allows agencies to allocate resources more effectively while realizing the financial benefits of cloud adoption.
RSC-G empowers federal agencies for a secure digital future
Embracing RSC-G helps federal agencies overcome barriers to cloud adoption while ensuring their data remains secure, compliant, and resilient. Modernizing IT infrastructure doesn’t need to be complex. We simplify the process, allowing agencies to focus on their mission while leveraging emerging cloud solutions.
Unleash the potential of RSC-G to transform your agency’s cloud adoption and data protection strategies. Secure your agency’s data in the cloud today. Learn more at Rubrik for Federal Government.