CDM Solutions for Federal Agencies

CDM solutions support DHS CISA's Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program by helping federal agencies monitor assets, identities, network security, and data protection continuously. They improve visibility into security posture, strengthen compliance, and reduce cybersecurity risk across government networks. Unlike periodic assessments, CDM solutions provide real-time insight so agencies can identify and remediate threats as they emerge.

The CDM program is organized around four areas: Hardware Asset Management (HWAM), which tracks devices on federal networks; Identity and Access Management (IDAM), which monitors user and device access; Network Security Management (NETSEC), which detects anomalous activity; and Data Protection Management (DPM), which tracks how sensitive data moves across agency networks. Together they give agencies a continuous, layered view of their security posture.

CDM is mandatory for all federal civilian executive branch agencies covered under the Chief Financial Officers Act — the departments and major agencies operating civilian .gov networks. DHS CISA administers the program and provides tools, shared services, and dashboard infrastructure. Defense and intelligence community agencies operate under separate frameworks, while state and local governments may participate voluntarily through CISA partnerships.

FISMA is the law requiring federal agencies to secure their systems and report annually on security program effectiveness. CDM is the DHS CISA operational program that provides the tools and infrastructure to meet those obligations continuously rather than through annual assessments. A strong CDM posture directly improves FISMA outcomes by giving agencies and oversight bodies real-time evidence of security control effectiveness.

Traditional monitoring uses periodic assessments, while continuous monitoring provides real-time insight into security posture. SentryWire supports continuous monitoring by analyzing all packet data and identifying threats within mandated monitoring windows.

Zero trust requires continuous verification of every user, device, and access request — which is exactly what CDM's monitoring capabilities provide. HWAM validates device identity, IDAM flags behavioral anomalies, and NETSEC detects lateral movement that zero trust policies should have blocked. Full packet capture strengthens zero trust enforcement by providing the network-level evidence needed to verify policy compliance and investigate anomalies.

The CDM agency dashboard aggregates security data from an agency's CDM tools into a real-time view of posture across all four capability areas. Agency dashboards feed into CISA's federal-level dashboard for government-wide risk visibility. CDM software tools populate it with application and identity data; network-level tools like full packet capture enrich those feeds with the contextual evidence needed to investigate what the dashboard surfaces.

SentryWire provides full packet capture, continuous monitoring, and real-time analytics that enhance CDM dashboards. The platform validates configurations, detects threats early, and produces audit-ready data for FISMA and CDM reporting.

Full packet capture integrates with CDM infrastructure through standardized APIs, SIEM connectors, and dashboard data feeds. At the SIEM layer, packet context enriches CDM-generated alerts in platforms like Splunk and Elastic with network-level evidence for investigation. At the dashboard layer, packet metadata populates NETSEC and DPM capability area metrics with higher-fidelity data than flow monitoring alone provides.

Yes. SentryWire is engineered for air-gapped, isolated, and classified networks. It provides continuous monitoring without external connections and maintains chain-of-custody documentation to protect sensitive information.

Yes. M-21-31 directs agencies to mature event logging and retain network and security data long-term. SentryWire complements log-based tiers with full-fidelity packet capture and metadata retention across multi-year windows, preserving the network evidence logs alone can't reconstruct.

SentryWire forwards packet metadata and full PCAPs to SIEM platforms including Splunk and Elastic, integrates natively with Suricata and Zeek, and feeds the CDM agency dashboard's NETSEC and DPM capability areas.