ISC2 Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) Practice Question

Within the Risk Management Framework, formal permission to place a system into production is granted through an Authorization to Operate (ATO). The individual who provides that authorization is the Authorizing Official (also called the Designated Approving Authority). This senior management representative has the requisite authority to allocate resources and accept or reject the residual risks documented in the security assessment report and Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M). The system owner supplies input but does not grant the final approval; the Information System Security Officer administers day-to-day security but lacks the executive authority to accept enterprise risk; and the Security Control Assessor merely provides an independent evaluation of controls. Only the Authorizing Official's signature constitutes the formal sign-off required to operate the system in the production environment.