Overview
Touchpoint supported a defence industry customer with the urgent delivery of a secure DevSecOps environment required to operate at the Australian Government’s SECRET classification. By coordinating a secure supply chain for hardware and partnering with specialist cyber security experts, Touchpoint enabled the design, build, hardening and accreditation of the environment within 12 weeks. The system has since successfully achieved an Authority to Operate (ATO) at SECRET.
Client Context
The client is an organisation delivering capability to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). As part of this role, they are responsible for establishing and maintaining secure technology environments that support defence operations and classified workloads.
Challenge
The client needed to stand up a new sovereign DevSecOps environment to support ADF delivery under exceptionally tight time constraints. This was not a standard IT deployment. The environment was required to operate at the SECRET classification level and withstand rigorous scrutiny from defence accrediting authorities.
The solution needed to be designed, deployed, hardened, and accredited end-to-end within a narrow delivery window. Any misstep - whether in hardware provenance, security controls, system hardening, or documentation - risked delaying accreditation and impacting downstream ADF milestones.
Secure supply chain requirements further compounded the challenge. All hardware needed to be sourced through trusted channels with clear traceability, while security and compliance controls had to be embedded from day one. There was no opportunity to retrofit security without jeopardising timelines or assurance outcomes.
Without a defence-aligned approach and tight coordination across stakeholders, the client faced significant risk of accreditation delays, security shortfalls, and an environment that could meet delivery deadlines but fail to sustain classified operations.
Approach
Touchpoint worked closely with the client to bring clarity, structure, and momentum to a high-risk delivery task. Rather than treating hardware, security, and accreditation as separate workstreams, the focus was on orchestrating them as a single, integrated effort aligned to defence expectations.
The engagement began by establishing a secure supply chain foundation. Hardware procurement was tightly managed through trusted, defence-appropriate channels, ensuring integrity, provenance, and traceability for SECRET-classified systems. This early control removed uncertainty and reduced downstream risk.
In parallel, security was embedded from the outset as a design principle rather than a compliance afterthought. Touchpoint introduced a specialist cyber security partner to design, build, and harden the DevSecOps environment, with controls, governance artefacts, and system decisions shaped with accreditation in mind from day one. This ensured that technical progress and assurance activities moved in lockstep.
Throughout the 12-week delivery window, Touchpoint acted as the connective tissue across stakeholders—aligning technical delivery with security assurance, balancing speed with rigour, and maintaining a clear focus on achieving accredited operation. This integrated approach allowed the client to move quickly without introducing hidden risks that could surface later during accreditation or sustainment.
Solution
The outcome was a secure, defence-grade DevSecOps environment delivered at pace, with confidence that it could be operated, maintained, and assured over time.
By tightly integrating supply chain integrity, security-by-design, and accreditation readiness, the environment was not only built to meet immediate operational needs but also structured for long-term sustainment within a classified context.
Results
The engagement delivered clear and defensible outcomes:
- A secure DevSecOps environment delivered end-to-end within 12 weeks
- System designed, built, and hardened to operate at the SECRET classification
- Successful achievement of an Authority to Operate (ATO) at SECRET
- Reduced accreditation risk through early integration of security and assurance
- Increased confidence in the integrity of the hardware and software supply chain
Most importantly, the client transitioned into classified operations with an environment that was not only accredited, but supportable and sustainable.