UK Security Vetting has reached a new milestone in its drive to improve and modernise its service, following its success last year in bringing processing times for all clearance levels back on track.
UKSV, which sits within the Government Security Group in the Cabinet Office, has completed a project to move all security vetting data from the National Security Vetting Solution, the previous platform used for the UK’s security vetting capability, to a dual-region cloud hosted by Oracle.
Previously all UKSV data was held on lots of smaller locally-held servers. It is now held at two geographically separate sites in the UK connected by a private high-speed network backbone, isolated from other Hyperscale commercial Oracle Cloud regions. For security reasons, the two sites cannot be named but are both in the UK.
The NSV computer system, the backbone of national security vetting in the UK, was in August successfully moved from its ageing hardware environment to cloud-based hosting within the Oracle UK Government and Defence Cloud.
The successful migration, which took eight weeks, ensures the continuity of a critical piece of the UK’s personnel security infrastructure, as UKSV processes more than 230,000 vetting cases a year using the NSVS system.
The long-term, complex project, which was led by UKSV in partnership with its supplier CGI, the Ministry Of Defence’s digital team, and other digital teams across government, has delivered the first and only sovereign, dedicated dual-region cloud for UK government and defence customers. The dual locations mean that if one site goes down, the other remains in use.
To ensure a smooth transition and the secure migration of sensitive personal vetting data, UKSV also engaged closely with its many customer organisations across government, defence, policing, and industry.
The move to the cloud aims to bring significant benefits in terms of security, performance and resilience for the vetting service, including an upgraded disaster recovery capability.
UKSV has faced many issues since being formed in 2017 from MoD and FCDO services. In 2019, consultants McKinsey & Company described vetting as the “worst government shared service”, while Deloitte recommended closing UKSV down.
UKSV chief executive Patricia Dreghorn explained to CSW last year how the organisation had turned things around.
Commenting on the latest milestone, Dreghorn said: “I am delighted with UK Security Vetting's continued progress in enhancing our digital estate.
"In line with the government's cloud-first policy, we have successfully moved the National Security Vetting Solution into the first and only sovereign, dedicated dual-region cloud for the UK government, provided by Oracle.
"The move will give us improved resilience, performance and security controls and secure the future of this vital national security service. Thank you to CGI and the digital teams across government who have worked in partnership with UKSV to make this possible.”
Neil Timms, senior vice president, space, defence and intelligence at CGI in the UK and Australia, added: “The successful go-live of the National Security Vetting Solution on secure cloud infrastructure marks a significant step in strengthening the UK’s digital resilience.
"This new cloud platform enhances scalability, performance and security for a critical public service.
"We’re proud to have worked in close collaboration with UKSV to support their mission with secure, future-ready capabilities that will serve the nation for years to come.”