Josef Kamara, CPA, CISSP, CISA · Updated May 6, 2026 · 1 minute read

ATO Sponsor

The federal agency that issues an Authority to Operate to a cloud service provider and assumes responsibility for ongoing oversight of that authorization. Under the post-JAB FedRAMP 20x model, every authorization requires a sponsoring agency; the FedRAMP Program Management Office reviews the assessment package but does not itself sponsor. Without a sponsor, a cloud service cannot reach Authorized status.