About The Organisation
Ipswich Borough Council is the local authority for the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, delivering a wide range of essential services to residents, businesses and communities across the borough. From housing and council tax to environmental services, planning and community support, the council’s digital systems underpin the day-to-day services that thousands of people rely on. Like all UK local authorities, Ipswich Borough Council depends on a secure connection to the Public Services Network (PSN) to share data safely and access central government services. Maintaining that connection is not optional. Each year, the council must demonstrate the security of its IT environment through a CHECK-accredited IT Health Check (ITHC), the mandated form of penetration testing for organisations connecting to PSN. CyberLab has supported Ipswich Borough Council with this essential, recurring compliance requirement, providing consistent, reliable testing that keeps the council’s PSN accreditation on track year after year. Learn
The Business Challenge
PSN accreditation is a mandatory requirement for local authorities, underpinning secure access to shared government networks and services. To retain that accreditation, councils must complete an ITHC annually, delivered by a supplier accredited under the NCSC’s CHECK scheme and staffed by security-cleared consultants. For a council the size of Ipswich, this presents a specific set of requirements:
An annual CHECK-accredited IT Health Check to satisfy PSN Code of Connection requirements.A supplier with genuine public sector experience, able to work within the constraints of local authority systems and legacy environments.Consistent, dependable delivery of essentially the same critical test each year, with minimal disruption to council operations. Clear, audit-ready reporting that supports the council’s accreditation submission and internal assurance processes. Fair, transparent and consistent pricing for a project that has to happen every year regardless of budget pressures elsewhere.
The Solution
Working closely with the council, CyberLab delivered a CHECK-accredited IT Health Check (ITHC) to meet PSN Code of Connection requirements. Carried out by security-cleared CHECK Team Leaders and Team Members, the assessment covered external and internal testing, vulnerability scanning and access controls, concluding with a clear, audit-ready report to support the council's accreditation submission.
“We’ve worked with CyberLab on our PSN IT Health Check for several years now, and it’s exactly the kind of reliable, consistent service you want for a test like this. It’s not the most exciting project on our calendar, but it’s essential, and CyberLab makes it easy. Their team understands the specific requirements of local authority testing and PSN accreditation, and the reporting we receive gives us everything we need for our submission without any fuss. I’d happily recommend CyberLab to other councils looking for a straightforward, dependable partner for their ITHC.”
– Stuart Graham, Cyber Security Manager
Ipswich Borough Council
The Outcome
Through its continued partnership with CyberLab, Ipswich Borough Council has maintained its PSN accreditation with a testing process that is well understood, consistently delivered and free of unwelcome surprises.
Continued PSN accreditation, supported by CHECK-accredited testing delivered to the required standard each year. A straightforward, low-disruption annual process, run by a team experienced in the specific demands of local authority environments. Clear, audit-ready reporting that supports the council’s compliance submissions with confidence. Consistent, fair pricing for a project the council has to deliver regardless of wider budget pressures. A trusted testing partner that understands the council’s environment, reducing the need to re-explain context each year. For a compliance requirement that every council must satisfy, the value lies in dependability. CyberLab’s ongoing delivery has allowed Ipswich Borough Council to treat its annual ITHC as a routine, well-managed part of its security calendar rather than a recurring source of risk.
Conclusion
Not every cyber security project needs to be complex to be critical. Ipswich Borough Council’s PSN IT Health Check is a clear example of an essential, mandated requirement delivered simply and reliably, year after year. By combining CHECK accreditation with genuine public sector experience, CyberLab has helped the council keep a fundamental compliance obligation off its list of worries, so it can focus on the services that matter most to residents. For local authorities facing the same annual requirement, Ipswich Borough Council’s experience shows that PSN compliance testing does not have to be a burden. With the right partner, it can simply be one less thing to think about.
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