Sysec applies identity and access management (IAM) expertise to NPIA IAM project

Reading, UK – Tuesday November 17th, 2009 – Sysec Security Group (www.sysec.co.uk) has been chosen by Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN Group)[1] to provide identity and access management (IAM) solutions and services to police forces throughout the UK as part of the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA – www.npia.police.uk) IAM Central Services project.

There are 43 police forces in England and Wales with over 140,000 serving police officers.  In the continuing battle to protect the public against crime and terrorism there is a growing demand to make information more widely available across forces.

With increased access to data sources it is important to determine that people have the right to access the information and also to track what is done with it. Forces must be satisfied that the people making requests for information are who they say they are, and that they have a legitimate business need to access the information.

According to Cris Pikes, Managing Director of Sysec, “Effective information assurance and secure data handling rely on a complex combination of people, process and technology.  Users need to be fully aware of what information they are permitted to access and what they can do with it; processes need to enable timely and secure information sharing to help combat crime and terrorism; and, technology needs to ensure that only legitimate users can access highly confidential information. We are delighted that Siemens chose Sysec to work on this NPIA project which will, in the first instance, be to provide secure access to the Police National Database (PND).”

Sysec’s identity and access management consultancy and technology fully comply with the requirements for access to the NPIA IAM Central Services. The solution improves the efficiency and effectiveness of any force’s operations by enabling secure authentication for individuals accessing police computer systems. 

In addition, the solution can be enhanced to provide digital signing of documents and access for officers to police systems from any location thus reducing the need to travel and increasing time for frontline policing. This meets the  vision for information access articulated by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to ‘enable employees (and systems) to access the services, when needed, that they require under their basis of employment, whether access is via fixed, mobile or remote device, from either their 'home force', 'other force' systems or elsewhere, within security constraints.'[2]

Andy Bryars, Security Consultant for Sysec Security Group, commented, “Sysec’s experience of working with major forces such as West Midlands Police and Lancashire Constabulary has provided our security consultants with a unique insight into the need for the police to have highly secure and flexible access to facilities and information to do their job more effectively. A secure identity and access management solution helps deliver information to police officers where and when they need it to combat crime and terrorism.”

Sysec is currently working with a number of police forces throughout England and Wales to establish secure identity and access management procedures and the deployment of PKI/smartcard technology to help deliver more effective, technology-enabled policing.

[1] Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN Group) has been chosen by the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) as the prime contractor for the new IAM Central Services, the first application of which will be to provide secure access to the Police National Database (PND). www.siemens-enterprise.com

[2] http://www.npia.police.uk/en/10498.htm