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The latest certification by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) confirms that Macquarie Data Centres’ facilities offer capability to support government information up to Top Secret classification with full redundancy at the Certified Strategic level.
The Certified Strategic listing of IC1, IC2, and IC3 means Macquarie Data Centres’ entire portfolio is now deemed by the federal government to provide the highest level of security compliance to support sensitive government data and whole-of-government platforms.
Macquarie Data Centres, part of Macquarie Telecom Group, announced that its Sydney data centres in the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus and Sydney Central have achieved the Certified Strategic designation under the DTA’s Hosting Certification Framework.
The Certified Strategic designation is further proof that the company’s portfolio of local data centres provides the highest levels of security with the lowest risk profile when supporting government workloads, according to David Hirst, Macquarie Data Centres group executive.
“Our facilities provide both the assurance of redundancy capability and Zone 4 level security to government, with the option to extend to Zone 5, which are crucial elements when it comes to hosting sensitive information,” Hirst said.
“The Certified Strategic listing of our portfolio is further proof that Macquarie Data Centres is rising to the evolving expectations of private and public sector customers.
"We are constantly investing in building new facilities to meet the growing need for secure, sovereign and equipped facilities to host sensitive information, as evidenced by our recent announcement to build our largest data centre yet within our Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus – Intellicentre 3 Super West (IC3SW)."
The framework is designed to provide government agencies clear guidelines as to the security credentials, capabilities, and corporate ownership and controls of data centre providers servicing Australian government agencies.
Following Strategic Certification of Macquarie’s Canberra data centres, IC4 and IC5, in June, certification of the group’s Sydney data centres puts Macquarie into an elite group of certified providers that are able to provide multiple availability zones in two or more locations.
Macquarie’s two campuses are within 250 kilometres of each other, while the Sydney Campus is approximately 18 kilometres from the CBD. The locations are strategically positioned to offer maximum redundancy and geo diversity, and minimal latency, for cloud workloads.
According to Aidan Tudehope, managing director of Macquarie Government, the company is responsible for protecting the information of 42 per cent of federal government agencies, giving Macquarie unique insight into the threat patterns specific to Australian government agencies.
"We also have the security and capability required for protecting data up to top-secret classification at our Intellicentre 5 (IC5) facility, which was built for this very purpose,” Tudehope said.
“Our facilities continually meet rigorous domestic and international certification standards.
"Certification by the DTA of our full data centre portfolio at the Strategic level, combined with our status as one of a select few integrated service providers to government and nearly 200 government-cleared engineers, adds to our bona fides as a tier one supplier to government."
The Framework certifies data centres as either Strategic or Assured, and, as the highest level of certification available, Certified Strategic data centres are required to meet the government’s strict ownership and management control measures, with the data and supply chains which support government data storage remaining in Australia.
This extends to Defence data, with the Department recently unveiling its Defence Data Strategy, which highlights data as a strategic military asset.
In addition to the Certified Strategic listing, Macquarie Data Centres’ facilities are certified with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 credentials (information security), the PCI DSS 3.2, ISO 45001 credential (occupational health and safety) and ISO 14001 (environmental management).
Through the framework, the Australian Government is seeking to exert stronger government controls over the location of government information both at rest and in transit.
[Related: Cyber resilience key to securing Australia’s economic future]
Nastasha is a Journalist at Momentum Media, she reports extensively across veterans affairs, cyber security and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific. She is a co-author of a book titled The Stories Women Journalists Tell, published by Penguin Random House. Previously, she was a Content Producer at Verizon Media, a Digital Producer for Yahoo! and Channel 7, a Digital Journalist at Sky News Australia, as well as a Website Manager and Digital Producer at SBS Australia. Nastasha started her career in media as a Video Producer and Digital News Presenter at News Corp Australia.
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