GOV.UK
i2N Ltd
Cross Domain Security Zone
A Cross Domain Security Zone enables consumers to securely transfer data between environments with differing classification requirements or connectivity constraints. This uses NCSC approved cross domain security patterns.
Features
- Self-managed option supports complex and varied use-cases
- i2N managed option supports simple and inspectable traffic flows.
- Designed for OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and for nondirectly internet-connected environments.
- Green; based in UK facilities which offer market leading efficiency
- Create citizen facing services while maintain data security.
- Leverages ready made solutions to reduce infrastructure and compliance costs.
- Ensure you are meeting the required levels of solution compliance
- Cross-domain functionality: controlled access between internet and secure domains
- Integrates COTS and OpenSource software where adequate
- Centralised management and protective monitoring, with real time events correlation/alerting
Benefits
- Choose the solution that best fits your needs
- Supports and enables the Government Digital Strategy
- Meet your environmental targets
- Provides secure, flexible, method of transferring data between domains
- i2N CDS option is delivered via a shared multi-tenant solution
- i2N solutions follow NSCS, CSP and Digital Services guidelines
- Flexible and evolving service to meet new and emerging needs.
- Secures always on environments.
- Support complex use-cases such as database-replication, backup, remote-access, code-migrations
- Provide level of safe/uni-directional connectivity to systems not tolerating access
Pricing
£500 to £1000 per unit per month
- Education pricing available
Service documents
Framework
G-Cloud 10
Service ID
688148644273815
Contact
Service scope
| Service constraints |
Planned maintenance windows are identified in the service description. Emergency maintenance windows are identified in the service description. Customers must complete an assurance activity prior to service provision. Remote access to Elevated requires a dedicated SRAS client connecting to a Bastion zone. |
| System requirements |
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User support
| Email or online ticketing support | Email or online ticketing |
| Support response times | Tickets are responded to on a priority basis. We aim to respond to ALL initial questions within 15 minutes during normal business hours. Week end support is arranged on an ad-hoc basis. 24/7 support is available upon request. |
| User can manage status and priority of support tickets | Yes |
| Online ticketing support accessibility | WCAG 2.0 AA or EN 301 549 |
| Phone support | Yes |
| Phone support availability | 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday |
| Web chat support | Web chat |
| Web chat support availability | 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday |
| Web chat support accessibility standard | WCAG 2.0 AA or EN 301 549 9: Web |
| Web chat accessibility testing | Our webchat support is done through the internet cloud based ServiceNow product which is assistive technology compliant. |
| Onsite support | Yes, at extra cost |
| Support levels |
I2N standard support includes an Account Managers, support engineers and a 24/7 Operations Centre. We aim to respond to all incidents within 15 minutes between 08:00-6:00 every weekday. i2N also provides ad-hoc on-site consultancy, training and troubleshooting services. |
| Support available to third parties | No |
Onboarding and offboarding
| Getting started | All new customers are assigned a Customer Success Manager that will provide proactive support and advice for the first 90 days. Onboarding is supported by our Cloud Architects and DevOps who ensure the right solution is provisioned and maximised for the workloads, along with a range of user guides. |
| Service documentation | Yes |
| Documentation formats |
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| Other documentation formats | Video and podcasts |
| End-of-contract data extraction | The customer must request a data extraction from i2N due to the OFFICIAL nature of the envorinment. Agreements must be in place to provide secure transport devices and handling. Data can be extracted either from within the VM (copying specific files/folders, databases etc..) or the entire VM (exporting as a VHD, VMDK or OVF). If object storage is used, the customer may export their data to a different platform subject to compliance data transfer limitations. |
| End-of-contract process | All virtual machines and network configurations are decommissioned and erased (aligned to NSCS guidelines). Any used compute resources (CPU, RAM, Disk) are returned to the pool of available resources. |
Using the service
| Web browser interface | Yes |
| Using the web interface | The CDS zone may restrict provisioning and de-provisioning of Virtual Machines if it is a specifically accredited environment. Depending on the service level and permissions, the web interface can provide a control panel allowing users to provision, display, manage (power up, down, reset) and decommission various aspects (compute, storage, network) of this service as agreed. It is also possible to manage images including creation and recover of backups as well as access a comprehensive set of documentation and videos. |
| Web interface accessibility standard | WCAG 2.0 AA or EN 301 549 |
| Web interface accessibility testing | The web interface is accessible using the most common web browsers and is delivered over various private networks including PSN, N3/HSCN and Janet. The web interface is protected by standards-based encryption, two-factor authentication and optionally IP address whitelisting. The web interface is entirely HTML5 and does not require any auxilary plug-ins, therefore the web interface is accessible by any modern day desktop or mobile internet browser able to support secure HTTPS connections. When remote accessing a Virtual Machine, a new web page window will open giving access to the console. Multiple windows can be opened simultaneously. |
| API | No |
| Command line interface | No |
Scaling
| Scaling available | Yes |
| Scaling type | Manual |
| Independence of resources | Virtual Machines are provisioned per customer and not shared. A virtual machine running out of resources cannot affect another since they are fenced by the cloud software. Scalability relies on the underlying Cloud infrastructure which provide horizontal and vertical on-demand and real-time scaling to us. |
| Usage notifications | Yes |
| Usage reporting |
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Analytics
| Infrastructure or application metrics | Yes |
| Metrics types |
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| Other metrics |
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| Reporting types |
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Resellers
| Supplier type | Reseller providing extra features and support |
| Organisation whose services are being resold | UKCloud |
Staff security
| Staff security clearance | Conforms to BS7858:2012 |
| Government security clearance | Up to Developed Vetting (DV) |
Asset protection
| Knowledge of data storage and processing locations | Yes |
| Data storage and processing locations |
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| User control over data storage and processing locations | Yes |
| Datacentre security standards | Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0) |
| Penetration testing frequency | At least once a year |
| Penetration testing approach | ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider |
| Protecting data at rest |
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| Other data at rest protection approach |
Data at rest is protected according to the solution selected by the customer and the cloud provider capabilities. All cloud providers support as a minimum AES-256 encryption of data. i2N encourage its customers to protect their own data using encryption technologies where they are the sole decryption key owners. In this way, our customers are assured that their data can never be accessed by a third party. i2N own data is encrypted when the service requires it. |
| Data sanitisation process | Yes |
| Data sanitisation type |
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| Equipment disposal approach | Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001 |
Backup and recovery
| Backup and recovery | Yes |
| What’s backed up |
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| Backup controls |
Integrated cloud backup (snapshots): Users schedule backups through the cloud provider's web interface Integrated cloud backup (snapshots): Users contact the support team to schedule backups Integrated cloud backup (snapshots): i2N controls the whole backup schedule for the user Third party backup solution: Users control backups through their own vendor's interface. |
| Datacentre setup |
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| Scheduling backups | Supplier controls the whole backup schedule |
| Backup recovery |
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Data-in-transit protection
| Data protection between buyer and supplier networks |
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| Other protection between networks |
Deep inspection of protocols (Palo Alto IPS) Furthermore, i2N controls the logical networks that are created atop the physical cloud provider infrastrcuture. We use defence in depth approach, we logically segment networks where possible, configure several firewall layers, IPSs, deep packet inspection and real time security event correlation monitoring. |
| Data protection within supplier network |
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| Other protection within supplier network |
Palo Alto Firewalls, Segmentation and Ring fenced virtual applications. Furthermore, i2N controls the logical networks that are created atop the physical cloud provider infrastrcuture. We use defence in depth approach, we logically segment networks where possible, configure several firewall layers, IPSs, deep packet inspection and real time security event correlation monitoring. |
Availability and resilience
| Guaranteed availability | This aligns with the underlying cloud infrastructure provider with a minimum of 99.9% |
| Approach to resilience | Our service relies on the cloud providers. Their services are deployed across a number of zones (local replication), sites (datacenter replication) and regions (geo replication) offering various levels of resilience. Each zone is designed to eliminate single points of failure (such as power, network and hardware). A standard basic service would provision a VM in a single datacenter. The customer can then select the resilience required by their solution and purchase the corresponding service level from i2N. Load balancing and autofailover are available. Customers are encouraged to ensure their solution spans multiple sites, regions or zones to ensure service continuity should a failure occur. |
| Outage reporting | Outages are identified as Planned maintenance, Emergency maintenance, and platform issues. The designated Technical Account Manager will proactively contact customers as appropriate. The account manager will be provided with portal access with a view on past, ongoing and planned outages. |
Identity and authentication
| User authentication |
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| Other user authentication | For online systems (e.g. Customer Portal, remote console), all cloud providers require users to have a unique username, password and memorable word combination. Customers may also use 2FA authentication tokens. |
| Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels |
Permissions are set for each user (RBAC) limiting access to the management interfaces to only what they need to use the service (POLP). For status updates, web chat, and ticketing, account managers and selected users are provided with a specific access for each service |
| Access restriction testing frequency | At least once a year |
| Management access authentication |
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| Devices users manage the service through |
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Audit information for users
| Access to user activity audit information | Users contact the support team to get audit information |
| How long user audit data is stored for | User-defined |
| Access to supplier activity audit information | Users contact the support team to get audit information |
| How long supplier audit data is stored for | User-defined |
| How long system logs are stored for | User-defined |
Standards and certifications
| ISO/IEC 27001 certification | Yes |
| Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001 | Bureau Veritas UK |
| ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date | 31/01/2013 |
| What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover | None - all within scope |
| ISO 28000:2007 certification | No |
| CSA STAR certification | Yes |
| CSA STAR accreditation date | 28/10/2016 |
| CSA STAR certification level | Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment |
| What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover | None - all within scope |
| PCI certification | No |
| Other security certifications | Yes |
| Any other security certifications |
|
Security governance
| Named board-level person responsible for service security | Yes |
| Security governance certified | Yes |
| Security governance standards | ISO/IEC 27001 |
| Information security policies and processes | I2N has a number of inter-connected governance frameworks in place which control both how the Company operates and the manner in which it delivers cloud services to its customers. These have been independently assessed and certified against ISO27001 by Bureau Veritas, a UKAS accredited audit body. The Company is governed by an integrated suite of information security policies. Under the top level Information Security Policy itself are second-level documents with specific focus on Acceptable Use, Antivirus Protection, Asset Management, Business Continuity Management, Data Protection, Password Management, Personnel Management, Supply Chain Management and many others. |
Operational security
| Configuration and change management standard | Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402 |
| Configuration and change management approach | I2N has documented configuration and change management policies and processes, which have been implemented, maintained and assessed in accordance with the guidance from ITIL v.3 and the current ISO20000 standard. Formal configuration management activities, including record management and asset reporting, are monitored and validated constantly, and any identified discrepancies promptly escalated for investigation. A robust, established process for the formal submission of change requests is mandated prior to review and approval of the Change Advisory Board, which is attended by a quorum of operational and technical management personnel. |
| Vulnerability management type | Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402 |
| Vulnerability management approach | I2N has a documented vulnerability management policy and process, which has been implemented, maintained and assessed in accordance with the guidance from ITIL v.3 and the current ISO20000 and ISO27001 standards. Where technically possible, real-time updates and status reports are identified and sourced from credible vendor sources. Outside those vendor sources, assigned personnel have responsibility for regularly reviewing technical forums and specialist groups to promptly identify and evaluate any emerging patches or updates which require our attention. |
| Protective monitoring type | Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402 |
| Protective monitoring approach | Following best practice from the National Cyber Security Centre, i2N protects its platforms with enhanced protective monitoring services (SIEM), at the hypervisor level and below. Our approach to protective monitoring continues to align with the Protective Monitoring Controls (PMC 1-12) outlined in CESG document GPG13 (Protective Monitoring for HMG ICT Systems). It includes checks on time sources, cross-boundary traffic, suspicious activities at a boundary, network connections and the status of backups, amongst many others. All alerts are immediately notified to the i2N SOC for prompt investigation. |
| Incident management type | Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402 |
| Incident management approach | I2N has a documented incident management policy and process, which have been implemented, maintained and assessed in accordance with the guidance from ITIL v.3 and the current ISO20000 and ISO27001 standards. This activity is responsible for the progression of alerts generated by automated monitoring systems, issues identified by i2N personnel, and incidents identified and reported to i2N by its customers and partners. All incidents are promptly reported into a central ticketing system, which ensures that each is promptly assigned to an appropriate resource, and its progress tracked (and escalated, as required) to resolution. |
Secure development
| Approach to secure software development best practice | Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0) |
Separation between users
| Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart | Yes |
| Who implements virtualisation | Third-party |
| Third-party virtualisation provider | UKCloud |
| How shared infrastructure is kept separate | At the compute/storage layer, consumers are separated via robust hypervisor controls based on the cloud technologies employed (VMware vSphere). VMware based solution validated by the NCSC PGA. It provides Network controls, allow VLAN type of traffic separation and segregation. The dedicated host option further enhance the data separation. |
Energy efficiency
| Energy-efficient datacentres | Yes |
Pricing
| Price | £500 to £1000 per unit per month |
| Discount for educational organisations | Yes |
| Free trial available | No |
Documents
| Pricing document | View uploaded document |
| Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card | View uploaded document |
| Terms and conditions document | View uploaded document |