Open-source software (OSS) offers flexibility and innovation, but federal agencies face challenges when integrating these tools into mission-critical operations. Rancher Government Solutions (RGS) understands these challenges and an RGS Subscription ensures that agencies using OSS like Kubernetes receive the stability, security, and support required to meet and exceed government standards.
Why Choose and RGS Subscription
While OSS may be "free" to acquire, federal agencies need more than just access to software—they need a partner to ensure secure, efficient, and compliant operations. The RGS subscription delivers on this need through:
- Expertise: RGS engineers specialize in cloud operations, security, and compliance, ensuring smooth, mission-critical performance.
- Comprehensive Integration: Beyond Rancher products, RGS supports integration with other certified OSS, tailored to the agency’s infrastructure.
- 24/7 U.S. Based/U.S. Citizen Support: RGS provides around-the-clock troubleshooting and on-call engineers to prevent disruptions, ensuring mission readiness.
Ensuring Security and Compliance: The Power of Rancher Government Carbide
One of the standout features of the RGS Subscription is the Rancher Government Carbide solution, specifically designed to enhance the security and compliance of open-source software for federal agencies. In the context of rising cybersecurity threats and stringent government directives like Executive Order 14028, Carbide offers a comprehensive suite of features that ensure secure, compliant, and mission-ready operations for government agencies. Here's how Carbide strengthens the RGS subscription:
- Trusted Software Origins: Federal agencies must ensure that the software they use is sourced from secure, verified repositories. Carbide guarantees that all software delivered to government agencies comes from trusted and validated locations, producing digital signed Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) and Vulnerability Assessments to protect against the risks of malicious injections or compromised distributions. This focus on provenance and integrity is critical for maintaining operational security.
- Proactive Vulnerability Management: Carbide continuously scans for vulnerabilities and potential threats. By detecting and addressing these issues early, Carbide helps agencies stay ahead of security challenges. Additionally, Carbide's transparency through published scan reports ensures that agencies are always informed about the security posture of their software stack, minimizing surprises and enhancing trust.
- Digital Assurance: Every RGS solution is digitally signed, providing a verifiable chain of trust. This means that the software's integrity can be checked at any point in its lifecycle, ensuring it hasn’t been tampered with. This digital assurance is especially vital for environments requiring heightened security, such as air-gapped systems, where external internet access is restricted.
- Centralized Secure Hosting: Carbide offers a secure image registry hosted in Azure Government, consolidating the software supply chain into a single, reliable source. By centralizing hosting, agencies minimize the risks associated with multiple distribution points and public endpoints, ensuring that their software assets are always sourced from a protected environment.
- Robust Policy-Driven Enforcement: Carbide integrates with Kubewarden, allowing agencies to implement strict, policy-driven controls over their Kubernetes clusters. Agencies can define policies that ensure only digitally signed and verified images are allowed to run, preventing unauthorized or compromised software from executing. This policy enforcement is critical for maintaining compliance with federal regulations and reducing attack surfaces.
- Automated Compliance with DISA STIGs: Carbide also simplifies compliance with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs). Through tools like STIGATRON, RGS automates the process of scanning Kubernetes clusters for compliance with DISA STIGs, providing real-time insights and actionable outputs that streamline compliance audits.
Why Rancher Government Carbide is Essential for Federal Agencies
With Rancher Government Carbide, RGS enhances the security, compliance, and overall reliability of open-source software deployments in federal environments. It brings a level of assurance that is critical for agencies that rely on OSS to power mission-critical operations. By combining proactive vulnerability management, policy enforcement, and centralized secure hosting, Carbide ensures that agencies can safely harness the innovation and flexibility of OSS without sacrificing security or compliance.
Conclusion
The Rancher Government Subscription, bolstered by its Carbide offering, provides federal agencies with a comprehensive solution for securely deploying and managing open-source software. In an era where security threats are constantly evolving and government compliance requirements are increasingly stringent, RGS delivers the expert support, proactive security, and stability needed for mission-critical operations. By combining cutting-edge OSS with robust security frameworks, RGS ensures that agencies can innovate confidently, staying ahead of technological advancements without compromising security or compliance. With 24/7 support, trusted software origins, and policy-driven enforcement, RGS empowers federal agencies to harness the power of open-source software in a secure, scalable, and compliant way.
For agencies seeking to modernize their digital infrastructure while safeguarding mission-critical systems, the Rancher Government Subscription is an indispensable partner.
Additional Resources
Ready to get started with an RGS Subscription? Contact us today!
