1 Background

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1.1 Principles

1. The following principles apply to the Accreditation Process:

• P1 The Crown is the owner of the Accreditation Process.

• P2 The Crown has the sole right to set or alter the terms and conditions of the Accreditation Process.

• P3 Applicants or Accredited Parties can expect to be treated reasonably and equitably.

• P4 The Accreditation Process will be conducted in a manner that insofar as is practicable minimises the costs of achieving the required level of confidence in the Accredited Software and Accredited Party.

• P5 The Accreditation Process requirements will change from time to time to reflect changing standards and lessons learned to date. Such changes shall be notified promptly to Accredited Parties and Applicants.

1.2 Purpose

2. The purpose of the Accreditation Process is to provide a benchmark for Participating Agencies and Accredited Parties that will indicate that all software products that have been accredited are able to interoperate when appropriately configured.

3. The test component of the Accreditation Process is intended to prove that secure e-mail gateway products from different parties are able to exchange, block and report upon messages sent between S.E.E. agencies so as to satisfy the basic security policy requirements of S.E.E. In other words there are a minimum set of interoperation capabilities that all of the gateways need in order to support the basic security policy requirements.

4. Although secure e-mail gateway products may provide additional functionality outside of the minimum set of interoperation capabilities, the Accreditation Process is not concerned with these, unless these additional functions adversely impact the functionality of S.E.E Mail.

1.3 Philosophy underpinning Accreditation Process

5. The philosophy underpinning the Accreditation Process is one of partnership. The process is intended to be inclusive and constructive. It is in the interests of both the Crown, Accredited Parties and Applicants, to work together in all aspects of the Accreditation Process towards the desired outcomes.

6. The desired outcome of any instance of the Accreditation Process is confirmation or re-confirmation of particular software as being suitable for use by Participating Agencies to exchange secure e-mail with each other. The Crown is interested in a suitable supply market for secure e-mail products being available to Participating Agencies.

7. An important part of this philosophy is that costs and effort shall generally fall where benefits fall, but that the Crown and the Applicant will make every effort to reduce costs and effort to a practical minimum. Each party to an Accreditation process will be generous in contributing, and parsimonious in charging for time and effort.

8. In keeping with this philosophy the Crown may direct Participating Agencies being used as Operational Reference Sites not to charge the Applicant for recovery of direct costs borne by them as part of the process of testing revisions of Accredited Software, where estimates of such charges are provided by the Applicant in advance, and agreed by the Crown, and where those estimates have not been exceeded.