With the rapid growth of email use for interagency communications within the Australian government, a strong case was made for a standardised and machine-readable marking scheme for security purposes. Initially introduced in 2005, the Email Protective Marking Standard (EPMS) was created as part of the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) to meet this need. At their core, EPMS and PSPF require each entity to identify information asset holdings, assess the sensitivity and security classification of these assets, and implement operational controls for them proportional to their value, importance, and sensitivity.

This framework enables individuals to identify whether any information requires special handling measures. As all Australian federal government agencies are affected by changes to the framework and standards, so are organisations contracting with government entities.

As all Australian federal government agencies are affected by changes to the framework and standards, so are organisations contracting with government entities.

Your organisation should keep several considerations in mind:

1. Acceptance of both old and new standards: Does your organisation require users to be able to mark in both new and old versions of the standards at the same time?
2. Updating schema for new fields and adjusted policies: Is your organisation prepared to update schema for new areas and adjusted policies, such as recipient validation, for example?
3. Addition of optional elements: With this transition, do you require the addition of optional details?
4. Sensitivity level changes: Does your organisation now need to mark material at a higher sensitivity level?
5. Although all these questions are essential, the biggest question to ask internally is, “Are our users ready for the change?” Without buy-in from users, your organisation’s ability to comply with changes to EPMS becomes increasingly tricky.

BNS has made this process somewhat more accessible by ensuring that msXsms is 100% Email Protective Marking Standards compliant. So reach out today to learn more about packages, pricing, and how msXsms can assist your organisation.