Office365 and Azure listed as ASD Certified Cloud Services
James Kavanagh, National Security Officer, Microsoft Australia
I’d like to share with you some important news about the Certification of Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). Today, ASD established a Certified Cloud Services List and published a revised Information Security Manual (ISM) that provides a streamlined and effective way to verify the security of cloud services.
Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure are now Certified by the Australian Government for the handling of Unclassified - Dissemination Limiting Markers (DLM) data. As we announced earlier, both of those services are now also delivered from data centres within Australia.
Increasingly, Australian Government agencies are turning to cloud services as a platform for innovation and efficiency. The Certified Cloud Services List streamlines the process by which those agencies can assure themselves of security and compliance by providing a Certification that can be trusted.
As the premier information assurance agency in Australian government, ASD is conducting this cloud certification on behalf of all government agencies. Government, education and healthcare organisations across Australia can leverage the Certified Cloud Services List as evidence of the security of listed cloud services.
Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure are two of the first cloud services to satisfy the demanding requirements to be on this list. This builds on the extensive assessment undertaken of both Azure and Office 365 for the handling of Unclassified (DLM) government data according to the Australian Government’s Independent Registered Assessors Program (IRAP). A necessity for federal government agencies, this certification is also highly relevant to state government and enterprise organisations seeking independent assurance of the security of cloud service providers.
Microsoft congratulates the Australian Signals Directorate on taking this important step that will enable greater innovation while ensuring the security and privacy of government data.
The Certified Cloud Services List is available here:
https://www.asd.gov.au/infosec/irap/certified_clouds.htm
Further information on Microsoft Office 365 and Azure security are available here:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/trust-center/
https://trustoffice365.com
Microsoft is absolutely committed to being the leader in security, privacy, compliance and transparency, and to providing the most complete and trusted cloud platform in Australia