Cardiff County Councilwill use
computer log management and analysis software to track how
itscompliancewith access standards for the
new Government Connect Secure Extranet(GCSx) data sharing network.
The system, from
LogRhythm, will also
help Cardiff meet the payment card industry's data security
standard,
PCI
DSS.
Andrew Horner-Seddon, principal IT security consultant at the
county council, said, "We evaluated offerings from three suppliers
before selecting LogRhythm. We plan to configure LogRhythm to flag
specific instances on the network that need addressing, for
example, irregularities on the council's firewall and virtual
private network (VPN) so that they can be investigated at once.
"LogRhythm will also put us in a better position to accurately
assess how much information is flowing through the council as a
whole to ensure that the infrastructure is operating
effectively."
Local authorities in England and Wales are under pressure to
join GCSx, a non-internet, non-BT-based private wide area network
for secure communications between connected government
organisations, by the end of March to speed up government
departments' capacity to share customer data.
Through GCSx, local authorities can connect to the Government
Secure Extranet (GSX) and Intranet(GSI), the National Health
Service (NHS), Criminal Justice Extranet (CJX), and the Police
National Network (PNN).
To join they must also sign up to the GCSx Code of Connection
(CoCo), which sets out the standards and processes an authority
must comply with before being able to connect to GCSx. CoCo
includes specific requirements on log data.
Cardiff's implementation of LogRhythm should go live by the end
of this month. The new system, which replaces a complex manual
system, will bring the council in line with the CoCo standards and
ensure it complies with PCIDSS for taking card payments.
Ross Brewer, vice-president and managing director of LogRhythm's
EMEA division, said, "With less than three months left to join
GCSx, we are seeing a significant increase in enquiries to help
councils comply with CoCo. With public sector organisations
increasingly under scrutiny over data security and spending, more
are recognising the role that advanced log management can play in
helping them control both."