Public Services Network

Public Services Network
Compliance

The PSN CoCo succeeds the Government Connect Secure Extranet (GCSx) and Government Secure Intranet (GSi). It’s a UK Government Wide Area Network that enables connected organisations, including local authorities and central government, to communicate electronically and securely at low protective marking levels. The Code of Connection (CoCo) provides a minimum set of security standards that organisations must adhere to when joining the Public Services Network.

The PSN Code of Connection is based on the GCSx CoCo version 4.1 and includes the requirement for labelling emails with protective markings.

Specifically within version 2.7 of the Public Services Network Code Template, Annex B identifies the Customer Information Assurance (IA) compliance conditions and Condition EMA.1 requires that emails and their attachments are labelled and that the labelling schema is in line with the Government Security Classification scheme (GSC).

What’s the risk?

Organisations who do not comply with Public Services Network Codes will have their connection to the Public Services Network revoked and will be subject to additional scrutiny during time-consuming audit processes.

Boldon James Data Classification products make it simple for a user to classify emails within commercial off-the-shelf, market leading software in a familiar interface. They provide visual indicators to highlight protective markings to recipients of protected mail, encouraging better recognition and awareness. Boldon James Data Classification products support compliance with PSN CoCo by:

• Notifying users when document and email markings conflict to prevent inadvertent disclosure.
• Clearance checking to ensure email recipients are authorised to receive protectively marked information.
• Enhance data management, archiving and security technologies through metadata labelling.
• Full support for GSC classification policies