Andesite AI Gains Key Federal Milestone to Bolster National Cyber Defense

MCLEAN, Va. – January 23, 2026 – Andesite, a cybersecurity firm founded by former U.S. intelligence and military leaders, has achieved a critical milestone in its mission to secure the public sector, attaining the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High Impact Level "In Process" designation. The announcement officially lists the company's Human-AI Security Operations Center (SOC) platform on the FedRAMP Marketplace, making it accessible to federal agencies seeking to defend the nation's most sensitive unclassified data.

This designation represents a significant step toward full FedRAMP authorization, the U.S. government's highest security and compliance standard for cloud services. It signals that Andesite has secured sponsorship from a federal agency—a crucial vote of confidence—and is undergoing a rigorous security assessment by an accredited third-party organization. For federal cybersecurity teams, this development opens the door to a new class of AI-powered tools designed to combat sophisticated threats against critical national infrastructure.

A New Guard for Federal Cybersecurity

The FedRAMP High Impact Level is reserved for cloud solutions that handle data where a breach could lead to severe or catastrophic consequences, including the compromise of law enforcement, emergency services, or financial systems. By entering this demanding process, Andesite is positioning its platform to operate at the heart of the U.S. government's digital defense ecosystem.

"Founded by former intelligence and military leaders, Andesite is rooted in a deep commitment to protecting those who protect others," said Dave Brown, CISO & CIO at Andesite, in a statement. "We are honored to bring Andesite's security solutions to the federal marketplace, empowering those on the frontlines with the insights they need to secure critical infrastructure."

The move comes as federal agencies grapple with an overwhelming volume of cyber threats, a persistent shortage of skilled security analysts, and the increasing sophistication of state-sponsored adversaries. Traditional security operations centers are often inundated with alerts from a disparate collection of tools, leading to analyst burnout and a reactive security posture. AI-driven automation is widely seen as a necessary force multiplier, capable of sifting through immense datasets to identify genuine threats and free up human experts for strategic threat hunting and incident response.

Achieving the "In Process" status is a formal acknowledgment that Andesite is actively working with a government partner toward a full Authority to Operate (ATO). While the sponsoring agency has not been publicly named, the partnership itself validates the company's security architecture and its potential to meet the stringent operational requirements of federal entities.

The Human-AI Partnership in the SOC

At the core of Andesite's offering is its "Human-AI SOC," a platform designed to augment, not replace, human cybersecurity professionals. The company emphasizes a collaborative model where artificial intelligence handles the high-volume, repetitive tasks of investigation and data enrichment, while human analysts retain ultimate control over critical decisions and outcomes.

The platform is engineered to connect disparate data silos and security tools, reducing the inefficiency that plagues many security teams. It automates the investigation of alerts, processes threat intelligence reports in minutes, and drastically accelerates the time it takes to detect, investigate, and respond to incidents. This allows overburdened analysts to shift their focus from tedious alert triage to more complex and high-value work.

A key differentiator for Andesite is its "Safe AI Architecture™," which directly addresses the data privacy and security concerns that often slow the adoption of AI in sensitive government environments. The company guarantees that its AI models are not trained on customer data, a crucial promise for agencies handling classified or sensitive information. This ensures that an agency's proprietary data and operational intelligence remain firewalled and are not used to train a vendor's general AI models.

Furthermore, the architecture is built with end-to-end encryption and requires no complex "extract, transform, and load" (ETL) processes. By eliminating the need to migrate or extract data into a separate platform for analysis, Andesite reduces potential points of data exposure and simplifies integration, allowing for faster deployment and a more secure operational footprint from day one.

Building a Fortress of Compliance

Andesite's pursuit of the FedRAMP High designation is the capstone of a broader corporate strategy centered on building trust through verifiable compliance. Before embarking on the FedRAMP journey, the company amassed an impressive array of industry-leading certifications, establishing a robust foundation of security and responsible governance.

This "secure and compliant by design" philosophy is demonstrated by its recent achievement of certifications including SOC 2 Type II, which validates its controls over security, availability, and confidentiality. The company also holds the HITRUST e1 and AI Security Certifications, demonstrating its ability to protect sensitive data and manage risk in complex environments like healthcare.

Significantly, Andesite is one of the world's earliest adopters of a trio of key International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications: ISO 27001 for Information Security Management, ISO 27701 for Privacy Information Management, and the new ISO 42001 for AI Management Systems. This comprehensive suite of certifications reflects a holistic approach to security, privacy, and responsible AI governance that permeates the company's technology and operations, positioning it at the forefront of the secure AI movement. For government procurement officers and CISOs, this extensive compliance portfolio serves as a powerful assurance that the company has embedded security and ethical principles into its core.

A Mission-Driven Approach to National Security

Andesite's deep focus on the public sector is a direct reflection of its leadership's pedigree. The company was co-founded by Brian Carbaugh, who spent over 30 years in the U.S. Marines and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), ultimately leading the agency's global paramilitary and special operations. He is joined by Chief Product Officer William Macmillan, a former CIA operations leader who ran the agency's offensive cyber program before retiring as its CISO.

This background provides the company with unique insight into the operational realities and high-stakes nature of national security cyber defense. The founders' decades of experience defending the nation against its most sophisticated adversaries have instilled a mission-driven culture focused on empowering the defenders on the front lines. This heritage lends significant credibility to their platform and its design philosophy, which prioritizes human oversight and secure implementation in high-consequence environments.

As federal agencies continue to navigate the dual promise and peril of artificial intelligence, the arrival of solutions like Andesite's in the federal marketplace marks a pivotal moment. By combining advanced AI automation with a deep commitment to human-centric design, robust compliance, and a mission-driven ethos, the company aims to provide a powerful new capability in the ongoing effort to protect the nation's digital frontier.