Protective Markings
These markings are security labels to alert people to the sensitivity of the information they are handling so they can protect it appropriately. They can also be used by some systems to restrict access or dissemination of sensitive information. Votar have recommended to our clients to implement protective markings for their information assets by:
Updating report and document templates to include protective markings
Enabling and configuring Sensitivity Labels in Office365 for marking electronic documents and emails
Configuring metadata in their EDRMS to apply protective markings to records, with a default marking typically inherited from their Business Classification Scheme
Updating key screens in business systems to display protective markings
Applying stamps or stickers to covers of hardcopy files
It is good to note that you don’t need to reassess (and relabel) information that is no longer in active use, including information that has been archived. You should also note that the application of protective markings for information assessed as OFFICIAL is optional, it is only mandatory for information that has been classified as OFFICIAL: Sensitive, PROTECTED or SECRET.
It is now less than a month until Victoria Public Sector agencies need to transition to Victoria’s new Protective Marking scheme.