Macquarie Telecom joins govt's secure cloud services list

Becomes first Australian cloud provider on Australian Signals Directorate's CCSL

Macquarie Telecom's GovZone has been added to the Australian Signals Directorate's Certified Cloud Services List (CCSL).

The CCSL made its debut earlier this year as a tool to make it easier for government agencies to adopt cloud services. Its launch coincided with the ASD's release of updated version of its security guide for Australian government agencies.

The Information Security Manual was updated "to ensure better suitability in a 'cloud first' policy environment," an ASD spokesperson told Computerworld Australia at the time.

"The CCSL has been developed to mitigate concerns from government that the security risks of using cloud services may not be easily identified," an ASD spokesperson said.

"As the certification authority, ASD will provide a baseline understanding of how a cloud service provider approaches these risks using ASD's and industry's experience."

Until Macquarie Telecom joined the CCSL, the list comprised only Microsoft's Azure and Office 365 services and Amazon Web Services' EBS, EC2, S3 and Virtual Private Cloud offerings.

Being added to the CCSL requires IRAP certification. Macquarie Telecom's GovZone, along with the Microsoft and AWS services, is now certified for use with unclassified but sensitive information.

"The rigorous and detailed certification process overseen by ASD for cloud service providers will give public sector users confidence in making the transition to new technologies and services," said the head of cyber and information security at ASD, Major General Stephen Day, in a statement released today by Macquarie Telecom.

"We are pleased to be working in partnership with industry to ensure that there are a range of providers who can independently demonstrate that they meet the security needs of government in the cloud space," said Day, who is also the co-ordinator of the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

"Our analysis shows governments are increasingly looking for a range of cloud computing services for different data classification use cases,” said Aidan Tudehope, Macquarie Telecom's co-founder and managing director.

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Tags cloud securitycloud computingmacquarie telecomAustralian Signals DirectorateAustralian Signals Directorate (ASD)

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