Mimecast

In reply to the Hon. T.A. FRANKS (30 March 2021).

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): The Premier has advised:

The SA government first began using Mimecast Secure Email Gateway to protect SA government employees from malicious and spam emails in 2016 as part of the transition from Telstra to Dimension Data. Preceding this, Ironport devices were used by Telstra for the management of mail hygiene.

A key feature of the Mimecast system is URL protection,  which safeguards the SA government against the growing threat posed by advanced phishing and spear phishing attacks in inbound email.

The service works by funnelling all government emails through the Mimecast system, where they are then scanned for the presence of malicious URLs. All URLs in inbound and outbound messages are then rewritten, meaning an employee is only taken to a website if it is deemed safe. If it is not deemed safe, the website is blocked. This product ensures employees who click on links are protected in real time.

Globally, email is responsible for a large proportion of all cyber attacks so products like Mimecast help mitigate the growing number of threats that the government deals with on a daily basis.

The SA government uses the Mimecast product for cybersecurity purposes only.