Online service safety

When you pay, apply or report on suffolk.gov.uk, you're trusting us with sensitive data. 

Here are some of the signals that it's safe to use Suffolk County Council websites, online forms and portals:

• All our website URLs start with "HTTPS" and display the 'padlock' symbol in your browser as a sign of security.
• We display our logo in browser tabs and use consistent branding across websites, forms and portals to reassure you you're still interacting with Suffolk County Council.
• We provide contact details for all our online services so if you have any doubts or concerns you can get in touch.
• We publish all our privacy and data protection policies so you can find out how we'll handle your personal information - and what your rights are.

Security standards and assurance

Other activities we carry out to ensure your safety online include:

• We carry out regular quality assurance (QA) on our content, for example checking all our links are safe to use.
• We annually renew SSL security certificates, and also have an IT Health Check carried out by CREST, a certified third-party, every 12 months.
• We assure cloud products and services against the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) cyber security principles, and carry out NCSC Active Cyber Defence hub scans every 24 hours.
• Our most critical online services are automatically penetration tested on a regular basis. More complex systems also extend to human driven penetration testing.
• Any partner organisations we work must sign up to a code of connection. This assures their security for providing inbound support or accessing internal services.
• We maintain our Public Services Network (PSN) accreditation.

Ways to stay safe online

If you're looking for general advice on staying safe online, you can find information on our website.