Qualys wins FedRAMP High for TotalCloud cloud security

Qualys has received FedRAMP High authorisation for its TotalCloud product, with sponsorship from the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

The approval extends the FedRAMP High status of the Qualys Government Platform to cover cloud-native application protection. TotalCloud is now listed on the FedRAMP Marketplace for use by federal agencies, suppliers and other regulated organisations.

FedRAMP High is the highest compliance level within the Federal Risk and Authorisation Management Program. It aligns with NIST SP 800-53 High Impact controls and applies to systems that handle sensitive but unclassified government data, requiring stricter security controls than lower FedRAMP tiers.

For Qualys, the move expands its government offering beyond existing security and compliance tools into cloud workload protection. TotalCloud combines cloud security, compliance monitoring, runtime and threat detection, attack surface discovery, and cloud-native application protection in a single platform.

Federal focus

The authorisation is aimed at federal departments, contractors and commercial suppliers that must meet NIST SP 800-53 requirements. Users can rely on inherited controls within a shared responsibility model to simplify Authority to Operate processes and reduce audit burdens.

That matters in the US public sector, where software suppliers often face lengthy security reviews before systems can be deployed in sensitive environments. A FedRAMP High listing can ease procurement for agencies seeking approved cloud security and compliance tools.

Qualys positioned the authorisation as part of a broader push into government cloud security as agencies continue shifting workloads to public and hybrid cloud environments. Including TotalCloud in its government platform gives customers a more unified way to monitor the posture and risk of cloud systems.

Sumedh Thakar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Qualys, linked the approval to the company's government market strategy.

"In a world where AI-driven threats are shrinking the time to exploit, achieving FedRAMP High Authorization for TotalCloud underscores Qualys' commitment to mission velocity, aligning with the government's Cloud Smart strategy, so our cyber defenders can gain the upper hand," said Sumedh Thakar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Qualys.

He also highlighted the addition of cloud-native application protection to the authorised environment.

"Adding this milestone for CNAAP ensures agencies can modernize with confidence, securing their most sensitive workloads, while meeting the highest federal standards for trust and resilience," said Thakar.

Market position

Qualys sells cloud-based security, compliance and IT management tools and says it has more than 10,000 subscription customers worldwide. Its customer base includes large multinationals, and it has partnerships with major cloud providers including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

The FedRAMP High designation gives the company a stronger foothold in one of the most tightly controlled segments of the security software market. Vendors serving federal agencies are increasingly seeking higher-level authorisations as departments look for tools that can cover code, infrastructure and workloads under a single compliance framework.

TotalCloud now sits within that environment as part of the Qualys Government Platform, expanding the company's approved product set for agencies handling high-impact data. The listing also opens the door to contractors and other organisations that need access to regulated federal systems and must align their controls with government standards.

FedRAMP authorisations are often used as a signal beyond government procurement, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, finance and critical infrastructure, where buyers look for independently reviewed security controls. That gives software vendors an opportunity to use federal compliance approvals as a basis for expansion into other regulated markets.

Qualys said organisations using TotalCloud can gain visibility and control over cloud workloads while managing posture and risk across those systems.