Secure Gateway Service for a Large UK Government Department
A new Secure Gateway Service was designed, built, and implemented for the second-largest UK Government department, supporting approximately 100,000 internal users. The solution provided secure connectivity between internal systems and diverse external resources, ensuring high security, performance, and resilience across various environments, including AWS, Azure, PSN, and SaaS services.
Overview
The Secure Gateway Service was developed to provide a secure interface between internal Government users, systems, and applications, and external resources such as cloud platforms, SaaS services, third-party organisations, and remote access users. It ensured logical and physical separation, comprehensive content inspection, and robust security measures to protect sensitive data and maintain operational efficiency.
The Challenge
The Government Department faced the challenge of implementing a highly secure and resilient gateway solution capable of handling complex and varied connectivity needs. The key challenges included:
Supporting approximately 100,000 users while ensuring seamless connectivity and secure access.
Securing communication with diverse environments, including AWS, Azure, PSN, SaaS services (e.g., O365, ServiceNow), and third-party organisations.
Managing encrypted traffic with full inspection capabilities.
Enforcing stringent security controls, such as mutual certificate-based authentication and protocol breaks.
Ensuring compliance with strict Government security and operational standards.
The Solution
The Secure Gateway Service was meticulously designed and implemented, integrating advanced technologies and robust security measures. Key features of the solution included:
Logical and physical separation of network layers to enhance security.
Inspection of encrypted content with intrusion prevention, URL filtering, and anti-bot measures.
Near-zero-day malware protection alongside traditional antivirus controls.
Certificate-based IPsec and SSL remote access VPNs for secure communication.
Full protocol breaks for additional data inspection and validation.
Virtualised security gateways using VMware technologies for scalability and resilience.
Integration with protective monitoring and vulnerability management systems for enhanced security visibility.
The Outcome
The Secure Gateway Service successfully provided a resilient and highly secure gateway solution for the department’s extensive user base. The service facilitated secure communication across multiple platforms and external environments while ensuring compliance with stringent Government security requirements. By integrating advanced security technologies and robust operational controls, the service significantly enhanced the department’s ability to manage connectivity and protect sensitive data.
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