Bracknell Forest Council says a cloud-based asset management
service is key to compliance for connecting to the UK public sector
data-sharing network.
The
Government Connect Secure Extranet (GCSX) requires local
authorities to meet stringent security standards.
"We were faced with nearly 100 new controls that we had to meet
to achieve compliance in June," said Richard Dawson, IT services
manager for Bracknell Forest Council. One of the biggest challenges
was finding a cost-effective way to secure data on portable
computers that could be rolled out relatively quickly, he said.
Dawson conducted a trial of an asset management system from
Canada-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider
Absolute Software. The council approved the supplier based on
its established user base of four million subscribers around the
world.
"The SaaS model means that no hardware investment or maintenance
is required and the system can be rolled out quickly and scaled up
as required," said Dawson.
The system uses a small agent that is loaded in the computer's
firmware in the factory, which means it is invisible to users and
therefore tamper-proof, he said. This met the council's requirement
to achieve its security goals without making it more difficult for
IT users to do their job.
"The agent checks in with the monitoring centre every time it
connects to the network, which gives us the visibility and control
we need," said Dawson.
Since starting the pilot last year, the council has added around
400 computers and has used it to recover four laptops. "As soon as
we knew the laptops were missing, we were able to remotely delete
all data on the machines and subsequently trace and recover them,"
said Dawson.
The system has also been used for HR investigations into alleged
breaches of security policy. "If machines are taken out of the
country without permission, for example, the software provides us
with the evidence," said Dawson.
Reports on where and how the machines are used enables the IT
department to update hardware and software to match users' real
needs for their jobs, he said.
If anyone in the council needs a laptop, the system also enables
the IT department to identify and locate any idle machines, said
Dawson.
"Since rolling out the asset tracking software, I have been able
to rest in the knowledge that none of our laptops will be making
the data breach headlines," he said.