History

The Defence Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network is a new institution. This page records the principal events since its establishment and the milestones that have been announced for the period ahead. It will be extended as further announcements are made in the Newsroom.

The Department was established on a single day with a full set of instruments rather than assembled gradually. The framework, the registration procedure, the reporting arrangements, the advisory service and the readiness reporting scheme all took effect on 6 September 2026. The intention was that members should know from the first day what was expected of them, and that the first year should be spent building the register, gathering the first returns and learning from the first exercise rather than debating what the rules should be.

2026

Year of establishment

2

Offices established to date

6

Announcements made on the day of establishment

1

Edition of the Network Defence Framework published

1. Before September 2026

   Security arranged by each member separately

   Before the Department existed, each member of the Network protected the systems it operated on behalf of the Network according to its own standards. There was no common classification of shared infrastructure, no obligation to report incidents to anyone outside the member, and no means of warning other members when a threat appeared.

2. 6 September 2026

   Department established

   The Department is formally established with responsibility for the security and resilience of the Network and the protection of its members and infrastructure. Its official website is launched at defence.gov.vin.

3. 6 September 2026

   Interim Network Defence Framework published

   The Policy and Standards Division publishes the first edition of the framework, setting out the classification of shared infrastructure into three tiers and the principles members apply when protecting it.

4. 6 September 2026

   Registration of shared infrastructure opens

   Members are invited to register every system they operate on behalf of the Network, in phases by tier, so that the Department can compile the register of shared infrastructure.

5. 6 September 2026

   Incident reporting arrangements take effect

   Members become obliged to report significant security incidents affecting shared Network infrastructure to the Department within 24 hours.

6. 6 September 2026

   Advisory service established and first advisories issued

   The Department establishes the security advisory service and issues three advisories: one describing the service itself, one on the protection of credentials for shared services and one on preparations for the first exercise.

7. 6 September 2026

   Readiness reporting categories published

   The Department publishes the five readiness categories, R0 to R4, and the reporting periods under which members will submit quarterly readiness returns for their registered systems.

8. 6 September 2026

   First Network-wide readiness exercise announced

   The Department announces that every member will take part in a readiness exercise in the final quarter of 2026.

9. 31 October 2026

   Registration deadline for Tier 1 systems

   Planned. Tier 2 systems follow by 30 November and Tier 3 systems by 31 December 2026.

10. 30 November 2026

    Baseline readiness returns due

    Planned. Members submit a first return covering the position of their Tier 1 systems at 31 October 2026, establishing the starting point against which later returns will be read.

11. Fourth quarter 2026

    First Network-wide readiness exercise

    Planned. A summary of the exercise's findings will be published in the Newsroom once it has concluded.

12. Following the exercise

    Revision of the framework

    Planned. The interim framework will be revised once the consultation with members and the first readiness exercise have taken place.

13. 31 March 2027

    First annual confirmations due

    Planned. Each member confirms that its registered systems met the standards of the framework, and the Department begins its first cycle of sample verification.

For the Department's present responsibilities, see Responsibilities; for its offices, see About the Department.