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In 1985, the UK Government's Communications Electronics Security Group
(CESG), as the technical authority for HMG electronic security, established
evaluation facilities for carrying out security evaluations of government
computer systems. These facilities were the forerunners of today's
CommerciaL Evaluation
Facilities (CLEFs).
In 1987, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) established
the Commercial Computer Security Centre to examine the application
of formal security evaluation to commercially available IT products.
This resulted in the publication of a set of evaluation criteria and
an outline scheme for their operational use known as "the Green
Books". These criteria were tested during 1989 and underwent
wide consultation with industry.
It was realised that greater benefits would be gained from a single
scheme and accordingly, in December 1989, a new joint CESG/DTI scheme
was announced - the UK IT Security Evaluation and Certification scheme,
usually abbreviated to the "UK ITSEC scheme". The Scheme
commenced on 4 July 1990 and became fully operational on 1 May 1991.
Mission Statement
The objectives of the Scheme are to meet the needs of Industry and
Government for cost effective and efficient security evaluation and
certification of IT products and systems. The Scheme also aims to
provide a framework for the international mutual recognition of certificates.
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