CESG - the UK's National Technical Authority for Information Assurance at GCHQ - has today published risk management advice and guidance for the UK public sector on the use of smartphones in lower risk situations.
Today's smartphones allow employees to connect back into their corporate networks and work remotely and efficiently. Government cyber-security experts at CESG have successfully worked with major smartphone platform providers on how best to secure their products. The result is guidance for UK Government departments and the wider UK public sector on how to secure smartphones for remote working. The guidance applies to lower risk situations which covers large parts of the public sector. The guidance is not applicable for classified data (RESTRICTED or above).
Covering the majority of the smartphone market, the advice enables the UK public sector to use whichever platform best suits their business needs, confident that they understand the security measures they need to employ and the risks associated with each option. The advice is available for products from Apple®, Microsoft®, Nokia® and Research In Motion®.
A spokesman for CESG said "this is a great example of Government and industry collaborating to ensure that all parts of Government have the tools and information we need to work more securely in cyber space. It will help many parts of the public sector work more efficiently and effectively - saving money for the taxpayer".
11 April 2011
Notes to Editors:
1. The risk management advice for each of the four platforms named above is available via CESG's IA Policy Portfolio, a website for UK Government IA professionals. The guidance is only accessible to those with Government Secure Intranet (GSI) accounts.
2. The BlackBerry® Enterprise SolutionTM from Research In Motion remains the only smartphone system to have been formally evaluated by CESG and is approved to protect material classified up to and including RESTRICTED.
3. The publication of this risk management guidance does not imply formal endorsement or certification by CESG of any of the other platforms.
4. Apple is a trademark of Apple.