The Commercial Product Assurance scheme (CPA) is administered by CESG (the Information Security Arm of GCHQ) in collaboration with independent test labs. The scheme evaluates commercial security products against rigorous security standards, which are then available for use by commercial organisations, as well as meeting the requirements for protecting a wide range of Government Classified data.
DISK Protect was the first product to achieve Foundation Grade CPA certification in March 2012, making centralised management and automated deployment available to UK Government for the first time. During a pilot phase of DISK Protect at HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC), benefits such as automated Key Management were tested and validated, and the department is now ready to deploy a laptop estate with the potential to save an estimated £2.4m.
Whilst Foundation Grade represents a good level of commercial security and provides organisations confidence in the security of a commercial product, the Augmented Grade now achieved is the result of a more rigorous assessment of the product’s implementation intended for increased threat environments. The CPA products cover the majority of data handled by central Government departments, MoD, local authorities, NHS and blue light services, and is available for security conscious private sector organisations.
The CPA version extends and complements Becrypt’s suite of encryption solutions approved by CESG for use at all levels of protective marking, the only software encryption products approved to do so. Organisations can protect all levels of data with solutions from just one supplier.
Bernard Parsons, CEO of Becrypt said; “Becrypt is committed to finding innovative yet effective ways to protect sensitive data. Our experience of working with our clients in high threat environments means that we understand the complexities of managing the protection of different classes of data accessed from mixed IT estates. Now with CPA, public sector clients can manage their sensitive data, with the levels of efficiency enjoyed within the corporate sector. We have received a very positive reaction to the cost savings that this new solution is able to provide, and a positive response to the value of the CPA badge from both public and private sector organisations.”