The DfE’s Risk Protection Arrangement in Relation to Cyber Cover
Statement from Schools Broadband
8th November 2023
The DfE’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) is an alternative to commercial insurance that may save public sector schools time and money in comparison to traditional insurances.
In respect to Cyber Cover, under the RPA membership rules, Section 14 Conditions of Cover it states:
“All Members must register with Police CyberAlarm: Registering will connect members with their local police cyber protect team and in the majority of cases, a cyber-alarm software tool can be installed for free to monitor cyber activity. Where installed the tool will record traffic on the network without risk to personal data.“
Schools Broadband met with the Cyber Alarm team where it was agreed the Cyber Alarm product is not the correct fit in our multi-tenant environment. We are therefore unable to support the CyberAlarm software being installed.
The Schools Broadband security service however provides an enhanced offering to Police CyberAlarm. We provide Unified Threat Management services, our service keeps schools alerted with any detected threat, it provides advanced DDoS protection, and we also partner with organisations to help schools recover from a cyber event should it be required.
Below is a statement received from the RPA confirming that:
Schools Broadband security service customers are NOT required to install the Police CyberAlarm.
You are still required however to evidence that you have registered for Police CyberAlarm.
Quotation from the RPA
“We can confirm that to meet the RPA (Risk Protection Agreement) Condition of Cover RPA members have to evidence that you have registered, you do not need to install the CyberAlarm software.”