The IT operating platform Bund is the world’s first cloud platform to be both certified to ISO 27001 and cleared to process classified information for official use only (VS-NfD).

The IT operating platform Bund has received certification in accordance with ISO 27001 as well as VS clearance in accordance with the Classified Information (VSA). The ISO/IEC 27001 certificate based on IT-Grundschutz was presented to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Information Technology Centre (ITZBund) by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in Berlin on 6 September 2022.

This makes the IT operating platform the only federal IT infrastructure and the world’s first cloud platform to receive ISO 27001 certification based on BSI-Grundschutz as well as clearance to process VS-NfD classified information.

This is a milestone for the IT operational consolidation of the federal government, which is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The goal of the federal IT operations consolidation is to consolidate the server-side IT solutions of the authorities of the direct federal administration on standardised servers of the Federal Information Technology Centre (ITZBund) in the “Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS) service model. The Federal IT operating platform is a central component here.

IT security and data protection are of decisive importance for the Federal IT Operations Consolidation. This is emphasised by Harald Joos, Head of the Information Technology Department at the Federal Ministry of Finance and IT Officer for the Federal Finance Administration: “The certification by the BSI is an important step in our joint project to develop a secure, innovative and sovereign IT infrastructure. I am pleased that we can make a significant contribution to the digital modernisation of our country with the Federal IT operating platform”.

Dr Alfred Kranstedt, Director of the ITZBund, explains: “The IT operating platform Bund combines the requirements of the administration for information security, sovereignty, data protection and confidentiality with the economies of scale in terms of provision and flexibility. The certification shows: Together with the BSI, all these topics are taken into account in conceptual design and implementation.”

Technical benchmarks set

The Bund IT operating platform has a number of advantages over alternative cloud offerings: As a manufacturer-independent private cloud, the data remains in the hands of the federal government. At the same time, the federal IT operating platform offers fast, highly standardised and flexible options for using infrastructures.

Ralf Kunzer, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry of Finance and strategic project manager for the consolidation of federal IT operations, explains: “With the federal IT operating platform, we are setting technical benchmarks. Thanks to the extraordinary performance of ITZBund and our partners, we are happy to be able to provide the world’s first certified and VS-released cloud platform for the operation of the federal administration.”

Jens Gehres, operational project manager of the operational IT consolidation (ProITK) project at ITZBund, adds: “With the certification, we have reached a key milestone in our project progress. We are demonstrating with this: The Federal IT operating platform is innovative as a platform in itself, but also represents the starting point for the IT innovation power of the authorities of the immediate federal administration, for example for the new developments of solutions directly on the cloud.”

About federal IT consolidation

The goals of consolidating the federal government’s information technology are to ensure information security, to maintain sovereignty and control over its own IT in the long term, to be able to react flexibly to innovative technological trends and to ensure efficient, economical, stable and future-proof operation. This mega-project, known as “IT consolidation Confederation”, comprises two strategic projects in which the ITZBund is active as the central IT service provider: Federal IT Operations Consolidation and Services Consolidation. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) is responsible for the Federal IT Operational Consolidation, and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI) is responsible for the Service Consolidation.