Security policies and frameworks for data pipelines in the public sector

The Volkskrant has recently reported on data breaches at various ministries including Finance, Internal Affairs, Justice and Security, and at TNO, partly due to a breach at the company ID-ware. Additionally, the NOS reported on April 10th that the Dutch Data Protection Authority found that organizations are reporting cyberattacks too infrequently. We can therefore conclude that data security is an important issue and will remain so in the coming period.

In the transmission of data and information, data pipelines play a crucial role in supporting activities within the government. Such data pipelines ensure that organizations can exchange data around primary processes: from citizen services and law enforcement to healthcare and national security.

But what is a data pipeline exactly? A data pipeline is a system that facilitates communication between two entities (or organizations), wherein the data pipeline, if necessary, transforms the data and information that passes through it. In other words, data is collected, processed, and moved between different data environments within the data pipeline.

Examples of data pipelines to provide a better understanding are:

• Between citizens and government institutions: Exchanging medical data of patients between healthcare facilities; 
• Between different government institutions: Data exchange between police units and municipalities; 
• Within a government institution: Data within the Tax Authority.

Systems face an increased risk of cyberattacks during data exchange due to the critical nature of the processed information, such as personal and financial data. The complexity and interconnectedness of these systems create a growing attack surface for cybercriminals. Organizations can proactively take measures, such as implementing cybersecurity protocols and conducting security audits, to reduce potential vulnerabilities and effectively protect sensitive information.

In the domain of government data pipelines, there are numerous threats constantly lurking.

• The first thing to consider is data breaches. A breach of this data can lead to serious issues, such as identity theft and financial fraud.
• Another risk is the danger of cyberattacks. Government agencies are targets for advanced threat actors. They can exploit vulnerabilities in the data pipelines to gain unauthorized access to government systems, causing significant harm. 
• Disruptions in data pipelines can result in data loss, disrupting normal government operations and undermining citizen trust. 
• There's also a risk that arises within the organization. Think of employees or contractors with access to data pipelines who may misuse their privileges and cause security breaches. Or simply not applying certain cybersecurity measures (timely) due to ignorance, even with good intentions, which can also create vulnerability.
• Another point of concern is insecure encryption. If data is not encrypted during transport through the pipelines in a manner that limits IT threats, there's a risk that intruders and malicious actors intercept the data and misuse it. 
• Lastly, there's the risk of lack of monitoring. Inadequate supervision and logging make it difficult to (quickly) detect vulnerabilities or attacks and respond appropriately. It is therefore necessary to have strategies in place to make government data pipelines future-proof.

Within the government, various data pipelines can be distinguished. To determine which data pipelines have taken sufficient risk-mitigating measures, we need to look at the deployment of the following measures:

• Encryption: Employing data encryption as a shield against cyberattacks during data exchange is essential. This includes implementing end-to-end encryption to ensure intercepted data remains as protected as possible.

• Access control: The government applies strict access controls, allowing only authorized personnel access to data pipelines. Regular updates and controls to prevent unauthorized access are crucial. It's valuable to verify whether this is also done with APIs, collaborations in data environments with other parties, and with the IT environments of collaborating parties themselves. This might be less necessary with larger hyperscalers than with smaller, specialized software providers who gain access to the data infrastructure of a government organization.

• Preventive detection: Deploying firewalls and intrusion detection systems focusing on data pipelines, rather than just software or networks, is important.

• Training: Another approach the government can adopt is IT security training. This should be targeted at programmers, data scientists, data management teams, and compliance personnel.

• Response plans: Having incident response plans is crucial. Plans to respond quickly and effectively to security breaches or vulnerabilities that arise serve as emergency exits for unforeseen events.

There are various frameworks and guidelines in the field of security for securing your data pipelines. The measures are based on these frameworks. Below we have included the top 10 and provide a description per framework and the associated best practices for securing your data pipelines.

Vulnerabilities in government data pipelines can have far-reaching consequences, from leaking sensitive citizen data to threatening national security. Protecting these pipelines requires a multifaceted approach that combines technology, policy, and employee awareness.

In an era of increasing cyber threats, securing government data pipelines is of paramount importance, and proactive measures are essential to safeguard sensitive information and maintain public trust.