The update on Operation Turnel provided by the Chief Constable confirms that an IT audit has now been completed by the PSNI in order to ensure the IT systems are stable and secure and to establish the extent and search capabilities of those IT systems.
Can the Chief Constable please advise whether such an audit of IT systems has been completed before by the PSNI and if so what was the date of the previous audit and is there a report that can be shared with the Policing Board? Can the Chief Constable also please advise on the results of the recently completed IT audit, what this has confirmed, the further action that is now required as a result and the timeframe and costs associated with this? Please also provide a copy of this audit report.
There is no known previous audit of IT Legacy systems aligned to the Op Turnel terms of reference.
The Op Turnel audit identified six systems which required remedial action to improve the accessibility to and resilience of the data held and these are commented upon below:
- There are two legacy systems that have unsupported software, database and hardware technology with no standby systems for business continuity. A new single resilient IT system, to replace the two legacy systems, is currently under development and being tested. The new system is due for completion by 30th June 2019 and is on track. In the interim verifiable copies were taken and stored as an interim risk mitigation measure.
- One live system, also utilised for legacy research, has data stored at one physical location with no standby system for business continuity. A copy of the data has been taken and stored at a second location as an interim risk mitigation measure. A standby searchable system, located at a second site, is planned for completion by Oct 2019 in order to provide full business continuity.
- Two systems, required for legacy research, have standby systems for business continuity but the data is only stored at one physical location. The standby systems are due to be relocated to a second site, by Sept 2019, in order to provide full business continuity for this system.
- A tactical operational system had data stored at one location. An IT solution was implemented in May 2019 to replicate this data to a secondary site for full business continuity.
The costs associated with the IT remedial work, arising from the Op Turnel audit, is currently budgeted at £130,000.
These six systems have now had remedial action taken to develop their ‘searchability’ to a standard which enables a delivery of effective disclosure. Inevitably the age of these systems has a limiting impact to the effect that these systems do not due to their age and system architecture possess the same ‘searchability’ as an equivalent contemporary system. However in addition to the technical work that has already been undertaken and is planned in the near future, a Researcher’s Guide has been developed to provide a governance framework for an efficient and effective sensitive disclosure service.
Due to the security classification of the audit report it is not possible to share it in its complete form with the Policing Board. However, ACC George Clarke is willing to meet Members to further explore how any further assurance can be given, whilst respecting the security classification of the document.
Wendy Osbourne - Independent