Data protection for highly sensitive, classified information
In the public sector, employees sometimes work with very sensitive information. The sensitivity of this information is described in different classifications or secrecy levels.
Classified information can be facts, objects or findings requiring secrecy in the interest of the state or federal government. Classified information in the public interest can also be, for example, business secrets, tax secrets, or inventions.
One of the classification levels is called VS-NfD in Germany, or EU-restricted / NATO-restricted on an international level.
This classified level of information may only be made accessible to persons who need to know and work with the information in connection with a specific execution or initiation of an order. (Principle of "knowledge only when necessary"). If the data is in digital form, it also has to be digitally protected, for example through encryption.
However, there are strict guidelines and requirements for adopting cryptographic products for the protection of classified information. In Germany, they need prior approval from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
Utimaco provides BSI-approved hard drive encryption solution which can be used for the protection of laptops that store classified VS-NfD, EU-restricted, or NATO-restricted information. Laptops can then be shared (e.g. pool laptops) across employee groups with varying levels of security.
In addition, Utimaco offers a BSI-approved hardware security module, that securely generates, manages, and stores keys used to encrypt or sign classified data in VS-NfD, EU-restricted, or NATO-restricted environments.
