Authorization Boundary
An authorization boundary defines the set of system components, data flows, and external services covered by a single security authorization or ATO decision.
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Plain-language definitions of cybersecurity and compliance terms for defense, federal, and regulated teams.
An authorization boundary defines the set of system components, data flows, and external services covered by a single security authorization or ATO decision.
An ATO is the formal decision by an Authorizing Official (AO) to accept the risk of operating a system, based on its security posture and evidence.
BYOAI is an architecture that lets an organization choose which AI provider and deployment it uses — commercial or self-hosted — rather than being locked to one.
A C3PAO is an organization authorized by the Cyber AB to perform official CMMC assessments that determine whether a contractor meets the required CMMC level.
CMMC is the U.S. Department of Defense's program for certifying that defense contractors protect sensitive government information to a required cybersecurity standard.
cATO is an approach where continuous monitoring, real-time evidence, and active drift management keep a system authorized over time, rather than relying on a periodic point-in-time ATO.
CUI is unclassified information the government requires to be safeguarded or disseminated under specific controls.
A CVE is a unique identifier assigned to a publicly known software or hardware vulnerability.
CVSS is the open standard that assigns a 0–10 severity score to a vulnerability based on its intrinsic characteristics.
The Defense Industrial Base is the worldwide network of contractors, suppliers, and labs that design, build, and sustain systems for the U.S. Department of Defense.
eMASS is the DoD's web-based system of record for managing RMF packages, controls, POA&Ms, and authorizations.
FedRAMP is the U.S. government program that standardizes security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products used by federal agencies.
GRC is the coordinated set of practices that align an organization's governance, risk management, and compliance obligations so security and regulatory work reinforce each other instead of competing.
ISO/IEC 42001 is the international management-system standard for establishing, implementing, and continually improving an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS).
The NIST AI Risk Management Framework is a voluntary U.S. framework for identifying, measuring, and managing risks of AI systems across Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage functions.
NIST SP 800-171 is a security standard of 110 controls for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on non-federal systems.
NIST SP 800-53 is the catalog of security and privacy controls used as the baseline for federal information systems, FedRAMP, and many DoD RMF authorizations.
A POA&M is the running record of open security weaknesses, the planned fixes, owners, and deadlines.
RMF is NIST's structured, six-step lifecycle (categorize, select, implement, assess, authorize, monitor) for managing security and privacy risk in information systems.
SIEM platforms collect, normalize, and correlate security logs and events so teams can detect threats, investigate incidents, and produce compliance-ready audit trails.
A SPRS score is the number, derived from the DoD Assessment Methodology, that represents how fully a contractor has implemented the NIST 800-171 controls.
An SSP is the document that describes a system's boundary, its components, and how it satisfies each required security control.
TRACE Score is Advisedly's 0–100 vulnerability priority that factors in your specific environment — including threat activity, exposure, asset importance, and compliance impact — rather than a one-size-fits-all severity.