FireServiceRota is part of various safety-critical processes: we inform you about understaffing, alert you via pager and smartphone and process your privacy-sensitive information. For these reasons, information security is one of our main focus points. National governments are also placing increasing emphasis on this, for example in the Municipal Purchasing Conditions for IT in the Netherlands, and the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework guidance in the United Kingdom.

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In this section we give you a brief overview of the measures we take to protect the security of your data.

Fittingly, information security focuses on protecting the CIA’s systems: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.

Confidentiality means that your data is not accessible to unauthorised users. We protect the confidentiality of your data through an extensive authorisation model for access control, especially for users with access to sensitive data and systems. Every time we install an update, this authorisation model is first extensively and automatically tested. In addition, we have an annual penetration test performed by a specialised external party. They test our systems for vulnerabilities and make recommendations on how to avoid them.

Integrity means that your data cannot be manipulated or deleted. Continuous backups are the most important measure to ensure integrity. These enable us to restore (a part of) the database to an arbitrary moment in time, for example before data was modified, deleted or damaged.

Availability focuses on ensuring that alerting, scheduling and other functions are always accessible to you. Also in the event of a failure of our primary data centre, a DDoS or ransomware attack. To ensure this, we have redundant servers in a data centre at a different location in Europe. These servers can take over the function of our primary servers within 10 minutes. This process is regularly practised by our team.

In addition to the above-mentioned measures, FireServiceRota does a lot more behind the scenes on information security. Many of these are listed in our Business Continuity Plan.

FireServiceRota is independently audited and certified to internationally recognised standards. This ensures that security, reliability, and quality are embedded in everything we do, providing peace of mind for the fire and rescue services that rely on us.

• ISO 27001:2022 (Information Security Management): We have an externally audited Information Security Management System (ISMS) in place to protect your information and our systems against threats and vulnerabilities. During our audit, the assessor highlighted our clear vision and mature ISMS, noting that "FireServiceRota is a young and ambitious organisation that wants to do things right." They commended our team's high awareness of security aspects and proactive delegation of responsibilities. Download our ISO 27001 certification here.

• ISO 9001 (Quality Management System): Alongside our information security standards, FireServiceRota is fully ISO 9001 certified. This demonstrates our commitment to delivering high-quality software and services through effective processes, continual improvement, and a strong focus on customer satisfaction. Our management system provides a solid foundation for consistently meeting the rigorous demands of emergency services worldwide. Read more on our ISO Certified page.

• Cyber Essentials Plus: Supporting our alignment with the UK’s NCSC guidelines mentioned above, we hold the UK government-backed Cyber Essentials Plus certification. Achieving the "Plus" tier means that our security measures and technical controls have been rigorously and independently verified by a qualified external assessor through hands-on vulnerability testing. This provides verified assurance that our defences are actively protecting your data against external threats. View our live digital certificate | Download PDF certificate.

Would you like to know more about how FireServiceRota puts information safety first? Contact us!

Would you like to report a security issue?

Send us an email on [email protected]