Janusnet has built a special service to help Australian Federal and State Government customers verify that their Janusnet product configurations are sending messages with protective markings that are compliant with the Email Protective Marking Standard (EPMS) 2018. It is quick and really easy to use.
Checking your configuration is extremely important for the following reasons:
- Interoperability with other Federal agencies and the various email gateways
- Ensuring your agency maintains the markings of others, and your own content when received back in replies from an external party
- Preventing transmission of certain material to networks that are not sufficiently secure to receive certain content
- Assurance of the common standard of handling information within the Commonwealth, and of course
- Reducing the likelihood of accidental data loss in your own agency.
It should only take a few minutes to check the compliance of the full range of messages that you are likely to send, following these three steps:
- Identify all the different types of emails you are likely to use (standard emails, meeting requests, assigned tasks, etc) with reference to all classification levels including if appropriate, those with various caveats and information management markers
- For each message type, send a test item for each of the different protective markings to epms@janusnet.com
- You will receive a reply in a few seconds to each message. The response will indicate if the message was compliant or requires attention. The protective markings in the original message will be tested against the EPMS 2018.4 version which, at the time of writing, is the current version (the address epms_2018.3@janusnet.com can be used for the recent 2018.3 specification and epms_2018.1@janusnet.com can be used for the earlier 2018.1 specification).
New to the EPMS?
If you are new to the Commonwealth’s EPMS, it is the open standard that enables intercommunication between agencies with recognised, clearly defined protective markings on email messages. This helps prevent potential data leakage, communicates handling requirements and extends the security of your information with the application of ISM controls. We contend that the EPMS, in its various forms, makes the Australian government a world leader in electronic information handling.
What markings should you test?
Send at least one email for each of the following. You should also check the markings in calendar items and tasks, if your agency uses those, to maximise the testing and to ensure all vectors are covered.
| Maximum marking level | Send email, calendar items and tasks |
| OFFICIAL | UNOFFICIAL OFFICIAL |
| OFFICIAL:Sensitive |
as above plus OFFICIAL: Sensitive OFFICIAL: Sensitive with a combination of IMM (Legal Privilege and Legislative Secrecy; Legal Privilege and Personal Privacy; Legislative Secrecy and Personal Privacy, or all three Legal Privilege and Legislative Secrecy and Personal Privacy) |
| PROTECTED | Please contact Janusnet about using this service above OFFICIAL: Sensitive |
Receiving non-compliant messages
If you are receiving non-compliant messages you can direct other Commonwealth Government agencies to this service. It is free of charge.
