Macquarie Telecom secures airline safety and regulation data for Civil Aviation Safety Authority

More than ten government bodies rely on Macquarie Telecom for secure gateway services
 

Sydney, Australia – 24th November 2005 – The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has selected Macquarie Telecom as its provider of Secure Internet Gateway Services.

Under the three year arrangement, Macquarie Telecom provides CASA with: Secure Internet Gateway Services, anti-virus protection, intrusion detection and anti-Spam services; all via Macquarie Telecom's dedicated managed hosting and security facility, the Intellicentre.

Macquarie Telecom now delivers secure gateway and hosting services to more than ten government departments and agencies. These include the Child Support Agency, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Department of Industry Tourism and Resources.

Security and availability of data CASA oversees the safety regulation of civil air operations in Australia as well as Australian aircraft overseas. It is responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining aviation standards
• Certifying aircraft, maintenance organisations and air operators
• Issuing pilot and engineer licences
• Carrying out surveillance and enforcement of safety standards

CASA's website is a key channel through which information is issued and received. For example, pilots and flight instructors can undertake competency examinations online, down-load and submit licence application forms and view the latest regulatory guidelines; doctors and ophthalmologists can submit examination results online; aircraft operators can submit Service Difficulty Reports and access critical airworthiness bulletins which provide updates on the latest safety requirements.

According to Gray McLaren, CASA's Infrastructure Services Manager, “Secure and reliable access to CASA's information system is critical to the safe operation of Australia's airline industry as it indirectly impacts everyone from private pilots, through to domestic and international carriers.”

“The consequences of a major disruption to website availability would be serious for CASA. It could ultimately affect some airline operations both in Australia and overseas as well as public and government confidence in our organisation.”

According to CASA, Macquarie Telecom was chosen because it offered the most comprehensive, certified Internet gateway solution at the best price-point.

“We compared Macquarie Telecom's offering with other certified providers and were impressed with the quality of services delivered from its secure hosting facility in Sydney,” said McLaren.

“The security is very tightly controlled and the back-up and redundancy arrangements are impressive. Macquarie Telecom has a vast capacity in terms of battery back-up, as well as twin stand-by generators in case of protracted power outages.”

Macquarie Telecom's Executive Managing Director Hosting and Security, Greg Thomson said, “It is critical that the safety of Australia's airports, planes and pilots be maintained to the highest level. The security and availability of CASA's data is vital to this.”

“Macquarie Telecom has had its physical environment certified to meet ASIO T4 requirements in order to deliver secure gateway services. This provides CASA with assurance that its online assets have the best possible safeguards against ever evolving and increasingly sophisticated attacks or threats from the Internet,” said Thomson.

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For more information:
Mandy Galmes
N2N Communications
02 9213 2302
agalmes@n2n.com.au

About Macquarie Telecom
Macquarie Telecom is a leading supplier of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions – including voice, data, mobile and hosting – specialising in the business and government markets. The world class Intellicentre facility offers state-of-the-art hosting and security solutions. The Intellicentre is certified to BS 7799 and DSD Gateway security standards.

Macquarie Telecom provides services to more than 2,500 of the top companies in Australia and Asia, supporting more than one million business users at work every day. Founded in July 1992, it is one of Australasia's first deregulated telecommunications companies. It expanded its operation into Asia in 2000, and holds carrier licences in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.