First published by Adobe. Written by Chris Tennant, Architect & Director of Service Delivery at Adobe, and Irina Denisenko, CEO at Knox Systems.
What is FedRAMP High?
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a U.S. government standard for data and cloud infrastructure security. It establishes three authorization levels: Low, Moderate, and High based on the potential impact of a security incident.
FedRAMP High applies to information where a breach could have severe or catastrophic consequences: disruption to agency operations, harm to individuals, or compromise of critical government functions.
Authorization requires compliance with over 420 NIST-based security controls to protect sensitive, unclassified data. It is independently validated through a certified third-party assessment giving federal procurement and compliance teams a pre-approved security package.
To obtain this authorization, a cloud service provider must have:
- Data protection: End-to-end encryption for all data at rest and in transit.
- Access control: Phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication and strict identity management.
- Continuous monitoring: Monthly vulnerability scans and annual independent assessments by an accredited 3PAO.
- Security documentation: A comprehensive System Security Plan (SSP) detailing the full security posture of the system.
FedRAMP High applies to:
Law enforcement & intelligence: Sensitive investigative records, surveillance data, and inter-agency information sharing
Emergency services & disaster response: Real-time coordination for first responders, virtual command centers, and continuity-of-operations systems.
National defense & mission-critical operations: DoD and DHS systems where a compromise could jeopardize mission execution or personnel safety.
Note: DoD agencies often combine FedRAMP High with additional requirements under the DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide, such as DISA Impact Levels 4, 5, and 6.
Healthcare & life-critical data: Patient records for agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, CDC surveillance systems, and public health information.
Financial systems: Benefit disbursement, fiscal management, and large-scale federal transactions.
Critical infrastructure: Power grid coordination, transportation security, water supply management, and biometric data.
Why would federal government agencies choose Adobe Connect over generic conferencing tools?
Training, onboarding, and mission readiness:
The Marine Corps CDET uses Adobe Connect within a DISA IL4-authorized cloud environment to develop and host more than 6000 virtual meetings to date, ranging from live training for large groups to intimate team discussions.
The Department of Defense deployed Adobe Connect through DISA as Defense Connect Online, supporting 5.3 million users across classified and unclassified networks for mission rehearsals, briefings, training, and real-time operational collaboration worldwide. A use case that generic conferencing tools fail to fulfill. Additionally, Adobe Connect holds the record for holding the largest live web meeting ever held in the DoD!
With FedRAMP High authorization, the capabilities of Adobe Connect can be extended to training programs that handle highly sensitive Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and other secure data like law enforcement data, and healthcare info. Agencies running certification programs, compliance training, or mission preparation exercises that involve protected information can use secure virtual classrooms of Adobe Connect without building workarounds or accepting a lower-security alternative.
Emergency response operations, mission briefings, and critical communications
When federal agencies respond to emergencies like natural disasters, public health incidents, and other security events, the ability to coordinate across teams, agencies, and jurisdictions in real time is critical. Adobe Connect supports the required secure, structured, and high-availability communication.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council(NPFMC), a U.S. Department of Commerce council, maintains face-to-face collaboration across extremely remote locations, including satellite connections on fishing vessels using Adobe Connect, managing structured policy discussions for hundreds of stakeholders.
County police departments regularly use Adobe Connect as a virtual command center for incident support from explosive device threats to multi-state manhunts. The platform integrates live aerial surveillance feeds, drone detection data, and collaborative geospatial mapping, giving commanders actionable intelligence in real time.
Regional SWAT teams use Adobe Connect as a real-time coordination platform during active operations displaying suspect imagery, tracking operator deployment across sub-teams, and maintaining a running event log accessible from command vehicles in the field. The same persistent room layout is reused across operations because the mission structure stays consistent. The platform has supported dignitary protection details, and multi-jurisdiction warrant services spanning 15+ locations across all DHS Fusion Centers nationwide.
A major university integrated Adobe Connect into its security operations for football games with 40,000+ attendees and 250+ law enforcement officers from 35 jurisdictions. The platform replaced radio chatter and unreliable cell communications with structured, real-time screen sharing of weather radar, drone detection systems, and surveillance feeds across incident command, emergency management, and intelligence units.
Adobe Connect is chosen for these scenarios because in addition to providing persistent and interactive virtual rooms that retain their configuration between operations, customizable layouts for specific mission requirements, it also holds higher security standards, granular access controls for multi-agency environments, and reliable performance on limited bandwidth.
The FedRAMP High upgrade also means that the existing Adobe Connect agencies gain stronger compliance standing, and new customers face a shorter path from evaluation to deployment. Explore how Adobe Connect with FedRAMP High can meet your agency’s needs
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The FedRAMP High authorization was led by our partner, Knox Systems, in collaboration with Adobe and The DHS Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Knox’s execution agility allowed us to achieve this authorization in record time. Adobe is exploring achieving other authorization levels for Adobe Connect with Knox, including IL-5.
