CESG tailored assurance service
NCC Group is accredited by the Government body CESG to provide specialist information assurance services to be known as the CESG Tailored Assurance Service (CTAS).
CESG is the Information Assurance arm of the Government Communications Headquarters, which is responsible for intelligence and security. It works to keep Government communication and information systems safe from hackers and other threats and also to assist those responsible for the UK's critical national infrastructure (e.g. power and water) to keep their networks safe from interference and disruption.
Serving Government departments including the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and law enforcement authorities, CESG also provides services to bodies in the wider public sector and to various private sector companies. The wide scope of its remit includes the provision of authoritative advice on assessing current and foreseeable risks to information systems.
In line with the requirements of the new stringent government risk assessment methodology IS1, CESG introduced its new Tailored Assurance Service in June 2007. The new service was designed to enable provision of specific technical security services to Government. Each specialist provider has undergone a stringent selection and qualification process which examined both their technical and management expertise and the rigour of their information security processes and procedures.
In early 2007 NCC Group took part in CESG’s formal tender exercise to identify a number of companies to provide CESG’s Tailored Assurance Service . The company, which provides a range of specialist assurance services, was well known to CESG as an existing CESG CHECK and CLAS certified provider of security testing and consultancy. The company is qualified to undertake security testing, security infrastructure design and audit services for the UK government's networks and those of the critical national infrastructures, having held the sought after CESG CHECK Green certification continuously since 2001.
The expert security testing services provided by NCC Group cover an array of real threats designed to identify all areas of vulnerability. Using the up-to-date techniques, technologies and information sources used by genuine hackers to mitigate the identified risks and improve security measures, the testing involves far more than simply 'scanning' the network for weaknesses.
As one of only three providers of CTAS, NCC Group will undertake a wide range of security testing projects in response to the Government’s security requirements, over the next three years.
A spokesperson from CESG comments “We are delighted to welcome NCC Group as a provider of CTAS. Having worked with the company for a number of years on a wide range of security testing projects, we are confident it will provide an excellent standard of service and assist us in fulfilling the Government’s information security requirements.”
Contact us:
For more information on our range of Assurance Testing services, contact us today at assurance@nccgroup.com or +44 (0)161 209 5166.