Microsoft Azure Government now CJIS-compliant for California law enforcement agencies
Across the U.S., state and local governments are shifting more of their computing to the cloud. According to a 2014 report from the Pew Charitable Trust, 93 percent of state governments are deploying applications in the cloud, with 20 percent saying they are “heavily invested.” A key consideration for many government cloud applications is meeting strict regulatory compliance requirements for data security and privacy. This month, California and Microsoft took a significant step together, when the California Department of Justice issued a determination that Microsoft Azure Government complies with the FBI’s CJIS standards for handling criminal justice information in the cloud.
This means that any state, city, or county agency in California can now have its criminal justice agencies take advantage of Azure Government cloud solutions. This development builds on the 2013 agreement between California and Microsoft that established Microsoft’s Office 365 compliance with the FBI’s CJIS standards. Azure Government is the first – and only – hyperscale commercial infrastructure cloud platform contractually committed to meeting CJIS requirements for federal, state and local governments.
The CJIS Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation operates systems that provide state, local, and federal law enforcement and criminal justice agencies with access to critical criminal justice information, including personal information such as fingerprint records, criminal histories, and sex offender registrations. Federal, state, and local governments that want to access the CJIS through a cloud-based solution are required to use a cloud service provider that adheres to the CJIS Security Addendum, which mandates screening of personnel with access to CJIS-related data, and appropriate controls to protect the full lifecycle of data.
An added benefit of Azure Government for state and local governments is the ability to build on Azure’s platform with new and innovative solutions. A notable example is VIEVU, which provides a storage system built on the Azure Government cloud for police departments to capture and archive video evidence gathered from police body cameras and other police investigations. Microsoft and VIEVU recently conducted a pilot program with the Oakland Police Department to better understand security and privacy considerations around implementing body-worn cameras that store footage in the cloud.
In addition to the State of California, as of this month, Microsoft has signed CJIS agreements for Office 365, Azure, or Dynamics CRM Online in 11 states, including Texas, Michigan, Kansas, and Pennsylvania, and more are still to come.
From compliance to security and privacy regulations, Microsoft is committed to building cloud solutions that our government customers can trust and we will continue to work across the state and local space to raise the bar as a cloud solutions provider.
Michael Donlan, Vice President of U.S. State and Local Government, Microsoft | 11 March 2015
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