News
Deadline approaching for local authorities to connect to Government
secure network
19 March 2009
Local authorities in England and Wales have until 31 March 2009 to
comply with the requirements for connecting to the pan-Government secure
network. The UK Government Connect Secure eXtranet (GCSx) and Code of
Connection (CoCo) rules kick in on March 31 and any local authority not
meeting the rules could run the risk of losing data and being cut-off
from Government networks.
Security specialist Credant Technologies says it is assisting local
authorities in enabling remote workers comply with security
requirements. "Many Public Sector departments in the UK make extensive
use of remote access technology and staff regularly need to access
confidential information and sensitive financial details from their
notebooks as part of their daily routine," said Paul Huntingdon, Public
Sector Director at Credant Technologies.
"When the first GCSx CoCo compliance rules begin on March 31, local
authorities cannot run the risk of losing remote access for staff in the
field, so having a secure and effective encryption of all data stored on
the endpoint computers is absolutely critical," he added.
The important thing about meeting the new mandate, he explained, is
that local authorities must not only do what is required, but they must
be seen to be completing the necessary actions, and, if necessary, prove
that they have met the requirements of the new security gateway system.
"Despite the fact that many local authorities have been advised by
the Government of the need to complete their GCSx CoCo reviews and
consultancy procedures, there are still some departments that have yet
to fully implement a secure connection system for their remote users,"
he said.
"As a result, once the secure Government gateway goes live at the end
of this month, these 'straggler departments' could find themselves being
cut off from access to the GCSx system, whether they access the gateway
directly or, as is the case for remote users, via an aggregated gateway,
unless of course the Government grants extensions to them," he said.
For more information on the GCSx CoCo security requirements see:
www.govconnect.gov.uk
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