Spain Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (ENS) High-Level Security Measures

Spain ENS overview

In 2007, the Spanish government enacted Law 11/2007, which established a legal framework to give citizens electronic access to government and public services. This law is the basis for Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (National Security Framework), which is governed by Royal Decree (RD) 3/2010. The goal of the framework is to build trust in the provision of electronic services, and ensure the access, integrity, availability, authenticity, confidentiality, traceability, and preservation of data, information, and services.

The framework applies to all public organizations and government agencies in Spain that purchase cloud services, as well as to providers of information and communications technologies (ICT). It guides these agencies and companies in implementing effective controls for security in the cloud and on premises, in compliance with Spanish and EU security and privacy standards.

The framework establishes core policies and mandatory requirements that both government agencies and their service providers must meet. It defines a set of specific security controls, many of which align directly with ISO/IEC 27001, relating to availability, authenticity, integrity, confidentiality, and traceability. The sensitivity of the information, low, intermediate, or high, determines the security measures that must be applied to protect it.

Each government agency is required to adopt a risk-management approach to security, whereby they identify and assess risks, and then apply security controls appropriate to those risks. Service providers, too, must comply with the stringent framework requirements to help ensure that their procedures, technical capacities, and operations are secure and enable agencies to comply with the regulations.

The framework prescribes an accreditation process that is voluntary for systems handling information of low sensitivity, but mandatory for systems handling information at an intermediate or high level of sensitivity. An audit is performed by an accredited independent auditor. The report is then reviewed in a process of certification before risk-management controls are accepted in the final step of accreditation.

Microsoft and Spain ENS high-level security measures

Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Office 365 have gone through a rigorous assessment by BDO, an independent auditor, which issued an official statement of their compliance. BDO reports that the security measures in both services, and their information systems and data processing facilities, comply at the high level with RD 3/2010 without requiring any corrective measures. Microsoft was the first hyperscale cloud service provider to receive this certification in Spain.

Microsoft in-scope cloud platforms & services

  • Azure
  • Office 365

Office 365 and ENS High

Office 365 environments

Microsoft Office 365 is a multi-tenant hyperscale cloud platform and an integrated experience of apps and services available to customers in several regions worldwide. Most Office 365 services enable customers to specify the region where their customer data is located. Microsoft may replicate customer data to other regions within the same geographic area (for example, the United States) for data resiliency, but Microsoft will not replicate customer data outside the chosen geographic area.

This section covers the following Office 365 environments:

  • Client software (Client): commercial client software running on customer devices.
  • Office 365 (Commercial): the commercial public Office 365 cloud service available globally.
  • Office 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC): the Office 365 GCC cloud service is available for United States Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments, and contractors holding or processing data on behalf of the US Government.
  • Office 365 Government Community Cloud - High (GCC High): the Office 365 GCC High cloud service is designed according to Department of Defense (DoD) Security Requirements Guidelines Level 4 controls and supports strictly regulated federal and defense information. This environment is used by federal agencies, the Defense Industrial Base (DIBs), and government contractors.
  • Office 365 DoD (DoD): the Office 365 DoD cloud service is designed according to DoD Security Requirements Guidelines Level 5 controls and supports strict federal and defense regulations. This environment is for the exclusive use by the US Department of Defense.

Use this section to help meet your compliance obligations across regulated industries and global markets. To find out which services are available in which regions, see the International availability information and the Where your Microsoft 365 customer data is stored article. For more information about Office 365 Government cloud environment, see the Office 365 Government Cloud article.

Your organization is wholly responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Information provided in this section does not constitute legal advice and you should consult legal advisors for any questions regarding regulatory compliance for your organization.

Office 365 applicability and in-scope services

Use the following table to determine applicability for your Office 365 services and subscription:

Applicability In-scope services
Commercial Exchange Online, Exchange Online Protection, Microsoft Teams, MyAnalytics, Office 365 Customer Portal, Office Online, Office Service Infrastructure, Outlook Mobile, SharePoint Online, Skype for Business

Audits, reports, and certificates

The certification is valid for two years, with an annual surveillance audit.

Azure

Office 365

Frequently asked questions

How can I get copies of the audit reports and certifications?

The Service Trust Portal provides the audit reports and certifications in both Spanish and English. Your auditors can use them to compare Microsoft cloud services results with your own legal and regulatory requirements.

Where do I start with my organization's own compliance effort?

If your organization is using Azure or Office 365, you can use ENS Microsoft audit reports and accreditation as part of your own accreditation process. However, you are responsible for engaging an auditor to evaluate your implementation for compliance, and for ensuring that the controls and processes within your own organization align with the framework.

Resources