Public authorities have been reminded of the need to meet the common Public Sector Network assurance standards until work is completed on a move away from the network.
The message follows a blog published earlier this year by James Stewart who explained how the Technology Leaders Network (TLN) had decided that government was now on a journey away from the Public Services Network (PSN).
However, writing in a blog, Mark Smith, head of PSN compliance, said: “PSN compliance isn’t going anywhere, certainly for a while yet. The TLN agrees that – as one of the only recognised, externally accredited, cross-government common assurance standards – it needs to live on far beyond the end of the physical network.
“As James mentioned in his blog post, government’s move away from the PSN will take some time. There’s currently no timeline as there’s quite a bit of work to do across the public sector to prepare for these changes.”
PSN-connected organisations will still need to continue to meet their assurance requirements if they want to reach the important government and law enforcement services they need.
“If you’re a PSN-connected organisation or provide a service over the PSN, you’ll need to ensure you continue to demonstrate to us that your organisation’s security arrangements, policies and controls are sufficiently rigorous for us to allow you to interact with the PSN and those connected to it,” said Smith.
“That means you’ll need a valid PSN compliance certificate – and do everything you’ve been doing to get one and maintain it – for the foreseeable future.”
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