Executive summary
The robust fundamentals of architecture, design and baselines that were deployed for the 2019 rehearsal remain in place and have continuously been assessed. The security maturity of Census solutions has continued to improve with further time, investment and attention.
There are 21 findings in the report and they are all of a Low or Informational level, indicating only sporadic deficiencies and areas for improvement, for example, a small number of corporate security policies requiring review, rather than factors presenting a significant risk to Census security.
Overall, this assessment has concluded that both ONS and NISRA have comprehensive security programmes in place designed to reduce the risk of compromise to the delivery of the Census and citizen data. The assessment found that strong controls were also in place to detect and respond to threats that may impact the Census when it is in live operation. This 2020 assessment has found that security controls in place have built upon and enhanced those in place during the 2019 rehearsal.
Independent Information Assurance Public Report - Census 2021