Forescout Taps Coalfire to Speed FedRAMP Approval, Advance Zero Trust for Federal Agencies

Forescout Technologies is zeroing in on the federal cybersecurity market with a newly announced strategic partnership aimed at fast-tracking the notoriously grueling FedRAMP Authorization process. By aligning with Coalfire—a heavyweight in FedRAMP advisory and compliance services—Forescout intends to get its cloud security platform approved and operational within U.S. federal agencies faster than ever before.

The move underscores a broader trend: cybersecurity vendors are racing to meet increasingly stringent federal mandates tied to Zero Trust architecture and cloud modernization. For agencies still grappling with legacy systems and fragmented device inventories, time is running out.

“Federal agencies can’t afford delays when it comes to cloud modernization and Zero Trust for IT devices and the future of Zero Trust for OT security,” said Mike Walsh, President of Forescout Government Systems. “Our partnership with Coalfire positions Forescout Cloud Services to meet the highest security standards and accelerate the path to FedRAMP authorization. Together, we’re enabling agencies to strengthen cyber resilience and maximize ROI.”

The Forescout Cloud offering promises integrated, intelligent security across the entire enterprise edge—including IT, OT, and IoT environments. Its new 4D Platform aims to serve as a flexible alternative to the “vendor lock-in” typical of traditional federal network deployments. This could make it an attractive option for agencies that need to integrate multiple network technologies without sacrificing compliance or control.

By teaming with Coalfire, Forescout hopes to leverage the firm's FastRAMP accelerator—a service built specifically to shorten the FedRAMP journey for cloud service providers.

“Coalfire’s FastRAMP accelerator services are designed to help cloud innovators like Forescout navigate and succeed in the FedRAMP process with confidence,” said Karen Laughton, Executive Vice President at Coalfire. “This partnership reflects our shared mission of securing critical federal infrastructure and bringing trusted cloud capabilities to government customers, faster.”

The timing is critical. As agencies push to fulfill Executive Order 14028 and meet the evolving requirements of the Department of Defense’s Zero Trust strategy, vendors that can combine speed, compliance, and integration are better positioned to win contracts—and defend them.

Key differentiators for Forescout Cloud include automated policy simulation, asset health monitoring, AI-powered compliance reporting, and full SOAR integration—all of which are becoming necessities in modern hybrid and multi-cloud federal environments. Native support for IPv6 also signals alignment with federal IT modernization roadmaps.

As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve in both scale and complexity, partnerships like this one aim to bridge the gap between policy ambition and operational execution. For federal CISOs and security teams, that gap has never felt more urgent—or more expensive.