About the Department

The Defence Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network is responsible for the security and resilience of the Velocity Interoperability Network and for the protection of its members and infrastructure.

The Department was established on 6 September 2026. It sets the standards members apply when protecting shared systems, coordinates the response to incidents that affect more than one member, and tests the Network's readiness through regular exercises and quarterly readiness reporting. Its work is guided by the Interim Network Defence Framework.

How the Department works with members. The Network is a collaboration of independent organisations, and the Department's methods reflect that.

The Department sets the standard; members meet it

The Department does not operate shared infrastructure. It says what protection a system of a given tier must have, and the member that operates the system provides it.

The Department knows what the Network depends on

Through registration, the Department holds the register of shared infrastructure: which systems exist, who operates them, what depends on what. That knowledge is what allows it to warn the right members when something goes wrong.

The Department coordinates; it does not command

When an incident affects more than one member, the Department brings the affected members together, keeps a single record of the incident and agrees the order of measures. The measures themselves are taken by members.

The Department tests and reports honestly

Exercises, readiness returns and verification exist to show the Network how ready it actually is. Findings are recorded without blame and published in aggregate without identifying members.

Offices. The Department currently comprises the following offices. Further offices and points of contact will be announced in the Newsroom as they are established.

Office of the Spokesperson

Issues the Department's press releases and official statements, answers enquiries from the public and the press, and receives incident reports, registration records and readiness returns at the Department's contact address before passing them to the office concerned.

Policy and Standards Division

Maintains the Interim Network Defence Framework, confirms the tier of registered systems, assesses incident reports, prepares security advisories, plans readiness exercises and reviews readiness returns. It answers members' questions about how the framework applies to the systems they operate.

Read about the Department's responsibilities and the instruments through which it discharges them, or consult the Glossary for the terms the Department uses. General enquiries may be sent to contact@defence.gov.vin.

Those wishing to serve with the Department can enlist at careers.gov.vin.