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Battlefield Information Collection & Exploitation System (BICES)

VEGA is providing long-term Information Assurance support to the Intelligence Information Solutions Delivery Team (IIS DT) within the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). This support is continuously ensuring that accreditation is maintained through liaison with both the accreditation and national technical authorities.

The Challenge

As part of Defence Equipment & Services (DE&S), the Intelligence Information Solutions Delivery Team (IIS DT) is responsible for ensuring the through-life capability of numerous systems including the Battlefield Information Collection & Exploitation System (BICES). BICES provides co-operative sharing and exchange of information between and among NATO and other allied bodies through the use of interoperable ADP-based national and NATO support systems. BICES’s primary purpose is to share information between 28 NATO nations and coalition force groupings, with its capabilities intended for national, NATO or coalition use in times of peace, crisis and war.

The challenge for VEGA was to produce documentation for UK security accreditation authorities whilst ensuring that NATO accreditation requirements were also met.

How VEGA Helped

VEGA was commissioned to produce an accreditation strategy for BICES with the aim of achieving and maintaining accreditation for the lifecycle of the system. The process started with initial customer liaison which confirmed the client requirements, project milestones, and creation of a Security Working Group which was managed and administrated by VEGA. This resulted in the production of a security roadmap document to ensure a managed approach.

To provide accreditation evidence, a CESG InfoSec Standard 2 (IS2) and JSP440-compliant Accreditation Document Set (ADS) was produced (incorporating a full Risk Assessment and Risk Treatment analysis) in accordance with the latest version of CESG InfoSec Standard 1 (IS1). The Risk Assessment included the examination of interconnected systems (guidance previously held in InfoSec Standard 3) which highlighted the need for an EAL4 evaluated Firewall (at the NATO boundary) and a full protective monitoring and audit suite.

Following production of the initial ADS and subsequent granting of interim accreditation, the VEGA-produced security roadmap for the technology refresh was endorsed. It included recommendations for a complete upgrade of the server farm hardware and operating system software, and implementation of the CESG/Microsoft Government Assurance Pack (GAP) lockdown for Windows XP clients.

Value Delivered

VEGA’s ongoing support to the IIS DT has ensured continued accreditation of the UK BICES system, which has consequently laid the foundations for expansion of the capability to numerous other MOD Intelligence elements across several sites in the UK. VEGA’s expertise in the area of conducting IS1 Technical Risk Assessments has made way for the production of a software tool to assist in the timely and accurate production of IS1 calculations. This tool was used for the BICES risk assessment and was met with approval from the BICES Accreditor.