UNICC selects Element for secure communications

United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) has selected Element as its secure communications platform, following a competitive tender process.

UNICC is the largest strategic partner for digital solutions and cybersecurity within the United Nations system. It designs and deploys transformational digital tools and programmes to support over 90 partners in fulfilling their mandates.

Element will be used as a secure alternative to email for communication between the UNICC and its partner organisations within the United Nations. In addition to replacing email for written communication, Element will also be used for end-to-end encrypted VoIP and video conferencing. Certain chat rooms will include webhook integration with ServiceNow for ticketing.

Element stood out as a digitally sovereign platform which offers end-to-end encryption. Its ability to be federated to support multiple organisations was also a key factor in the selection process.

“We are excited to collaborate with Element to secure our communications with partners, replacing email, unsanctioned messaging apps, and insecure video chat. Additionally, we expect this solution will serve as out-of-band support to facilitate our incident response and crisis management plans,” said Sameer Chauhan, UNICC Director.  

The Element Server Suite will support corporate functionality such as advanced identity and access control (including support for Single Sign On), auditing and reporting.

“The whole point of Element, and the Matrix protocol on which it’s built, is to give end-users complete ownership and control of their data,” commented Matthew Hodgson, CEO, Element and co-founder of matrix.org. “In Element, UNICC has a platform it can easily self-host, manage and configure for its requirements. The benefits of decentralisation and federation to securely connect multiple servers and organisations are precisely relevant when thinking of the United Nations agencies’ work.”

UNICC will self-host Element through an Element Enterprise subscription. End-users will use the classic Element apps for iOS, Android, and Desktop.