HMRC saves over £2m using CESG certified Becrypt DISK Protect

Industry/Government collaboration results in dramatic savings as pilot delivers cost-effective, fast and secure access for HMRC laptop users.

London, UK, 1 October, 2012  HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is set to save up to £2.4m with the implementation of new disk encryption software. In a laptop refresh project they have benefited from new full disk encryption software from Becrypt. Becrypt, CESG and HMRC worked closely together to ensure that Becrypt DISK Protect met the functional and security requirements of HMRC. As a result Becrypt DISK Protect became the first product to be certified against the new Commercial Product Assurance (CPA) Scheme.

During a pilot phase covering 300 laptops, HMRC experienced considerable benefits over previous implementations. These included simplified faster deployment and centralised management. HMRC are now ready to deploy the product across further laptops with the same security requirements.

Stewart Weston-Lewis, Head of Service Design at HMRC explained; "We considered a need/use case and believe that the CPA solution is appropriate for these devices where we would have traditionally defaulted to the CAPS solution (CESG Assisted Products Service). The security is appropriate for the protective marking of these devices.

"Implementing a CAPS solution was not justified given that the cost would have been £2.4m more and the CPA solution is sufficient for our requirements. CPA does not compromise standards. It balances the security of the product to the risks it is exposed to."

Jonathan Hoyle, Director General for Government and Industry Cyber Security at GCHQ, stated: "CESG developed CPA to help UK Public Sector organisations identify good commercial security products and thus help to keep information secure. We needed to ensure that we maintained a pragmatic level of security, ensuring UK Government can deliver its business whilst remaining safe against the likely risks we face. We are absolutely delighted with the experience and savings HMRC have found as a result of CPA, and we hope this will be repeated across other Government departments."

During market evaluation, HMRC looked at other vendors for full disk encryption and found DISK Protect to be both flexible and reliable. The ability to encrypt in the background while the user is still using the machine, with no discernible loss in performance, was seen as a key differentiator, even when compared against so-called ‘free software'. The unique key management processes within Becrypt's CPA certified solution allowing management to be centralised is far less cumbersome than some other alternatives, making deployment many times faster.

Using Becrypt DISK Protect CPA, HMRC is now able to build laptops faster because their own engineers are able to install the full disk encryption. Key material is generated by the Becrypt software which reduces waiting time and significantly simplifies management of the keys. Additionally, as high levels of personalisation are no longer required, laptops can be allocated to staff much more quickly.

Weston-Lewis commented; "Being able to deploy Becrypt DISK Protect CPA has not only saved HMRC £2.4m in deployment costs, it has provided a much improved user experience, and will enable us to manage laptops centrally, with all the further savings that that implies. We now have a security solution which is commensurate with the risk posed."

Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, Chloe Smith MP, welcoming this innovative collaboration said: "Approaches like CPA are important to keeping the UK safe and secure in cyberspace. As we can see security doesn't need to be expensive. Excellent collaboration between government and industry can result in a solution that is fit for purpose and produces savings for the taxpayer."

Bernard Parsons, CEO of Becrypt said, "In these austere times where all organisations, particularly those in the public sector, are facing budget cuts, Becrypt is more committed than ever to providing innovative solutions to protect data. Even though budgets are reducing, cyber crime and threat levels are on the increase, which is why it is crucial for organisations to find new ways of working. The collaboration between CESG, HMRC and Becrypt to deliver this new cost effective solution supports the Government's Cyber Security agenda and shows what can be achieved in the public sector when organisations work together."