In the public sector, data is identity, rights and access to essential services. National ID, benefits, tax, land, justice and civil-status records stay sensitive for decades, and a single breach can erode public trust, disrupt services and trigger lengthy investigations.
PastWipe™ reduces the usable value of stolen or exfiltrated data outside approved conditions, with evidence that can be shown to auditors, oversight bodies and courts. It works alongside existing identity, SIEM/SOAR and records systems.
Record types to prioritise
- Identity and civil status: national identity numbers, birth, marriage and death records, immigration files, passports, driving licences
- Social protection and benefits: pensions, unemployment, disability and housing support
- Tax and revenue: taxpayer files, declarations, refunds
- Justice, safety and permits: police and court records, licensing, inspections
- Health entitlements and public registries (see also Healthcare)
- Land, education and utilities: cadastral data, student records, utility accounts
The risks public bodies face
- Exfiltration is not the end of control. Once records leave the perimeter through a vendor, endpoint or misconfiguration, traditional controls lose their hold.
- Cascade exposure. Inter-agency exchanges and lawful disclosures widen the attack surface and complicate audits.
- Overlapping obligations. Data protection, freedom-of-information and sector rules apply at the same time.
- Public accountability. Agencies must show how data was handled, not just state that it was protected.
How PastWipe works in government environments
- Policy-bound records and exchanges: use limited to a declared purpose (for example "benefits eligibility check only"), approved agency, device posture and time window.
- Validation at the point of use: requests outside approved conditions are denied, restricted or degraded.
- Targeted security-state changes: by record type, programme, cohort or vendor route, without disrupting lawful operations elsewhere.
- Evidence records: each read, disclosure or refusal can produce a signed event for your audit and SIEM/SOAR systems.
Sovereign control
- Keys remain in the agency's own key-management or HSM systems under its separation-of-duties model.
- Integration with government identity management, attribute authorities and device-posture signals.
- On-premises or hybrid deployment adjacent to records systems.
Example workflows
- Benefits eligibility with a vendor: eligibility data shared with a contractor is usable only for the eligibility check, from approved systems. Other uses are denied and recorded.
- Electoral roll extracts: extracts carry purpose and time limits, and use after expiry is denied.
- Inter-agency justice data sharing: each disclosure is tied to a declared purpose and recorded for oversight.
A typical adoption path
- Readiness and mapping: inventory data flows across agencies and vendors. Identify high-value record types and exchange routes.
- Policy translation: turn statutory and sector rules into purpose, retention and access policies.
- Protect exchange routes first: start with one or two routes, such as a vendor exchange, then expand to archives.
- Evidence and review: agree what oversight bodies need to see, and test it.
Timing is agreed during scoping.
Optional RepSec interoperability
Where several jurisdictions and vendors agree, the optional RepSec™ protocol framework is designed to express policy and evidence consistently across boundaries. It is not required for PastWipe.
Scope an evaluation · Request an executive briefing · Enforcement and evidence scope