Code of Connection compliance to be achieved by end of September
Deepnet Security (published 11/06/2009)
UK local Government offices will need to comply with the new CoCo or Code of Connection standards by the end of September to avoid facing data loss and ID theft
Deepnet Security is issuing a stark warning to councils, that they face data loss and ID theft by failing to act on the Government’s Code of Connection (CoCo) standards.
The deadline for CoCo compliance, which is a set of standards for the future of communications between local and central government, has recently been moved to September 30th, 2009. Deepnet is however warning that councils must review their security procedures now to meet the regulation, which requires local authorities to implement rigorous security processes and ICT controls, as well as provide secure access to data through multi-factor authentication.
Yurong Lin, CEO, Deepnet, comments: “Achieving compliance can appear complex and confusing, but councils must address this head on by reviewing security processes, so that they have enough time to implement any necessary changes before the deadline arrives.
“One simple way that we can help is to provide a unified authentication platform to prohibit unauthorised access to government networks, without the need to increase password complexity which invariably means users either forget their passwords regularly, which impacts helpdesk costs, or put them at risk by writing them down. Deepnet's two-factor authentication can be provided through a number of methods, such as a secure USB stick, mobile phone or a hardware or software token, whatever is easiest for the user.”
Mike Bienvenu, Technical Director, Softek, who installs these products across UK organisations said: “We have recently had an influx of calls regarding the CoCo Standards and what needs to be done to reach compliance. When speaking to local councils we have been advising them of the steps which can be taken to achieve DLP (Data Loss Prevention), as well as offering other suggestions from the Softek range to fulfil the different aspects of CoCo compliance, such as hardware protection.”
