Key facts
| Government fit | Accredited services get scoped keys; identity stays federated |
| API auth | Bearer API keys, scoped per environment and revocable on rotation |
| Workforce identity | SSO with SCIM provisioning for console and admin access |
| Authorization | RBAC with least-privilege scopes per key |
| Residency | Region-locked planes plus VPC, on-prem and air-gapped deployment |
| Audit | Authentication, key lifecycle and admin events exportable to SIEM |
| Models | 30+ models; air-gapped bundles confirmed per licensing agreement |
| Free plan | plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite, no card; 14-day full-access trial |
TL;DR
- Federate staff identity with SSO and automate lifecycle with SCIM provisioning.
- Issue scoped keys to accredited services only; no shared or personal keys.
- Keep citizen delegation and consent inside the agency's authorization layer.
- Choose region-locked, on-prem or air-gapped deployment to match classification.
- Give assessors authentication, key lifecycle and admin evidence from the SIEM.
How it works, step by step
- Classify the workload and record which data can leave the agency network; that decision drives cloud, VPC, on-prem or air-gapped deployment.
- Federate your identity provider to Plugsky SSO and map agency groups to RBAC roles before enabling SCIM provisioning.
- Define the service inventory and issue one scoped key per accredited service, environment and purpose, held in an approved secrets store.
- Keep citizen or caseworker delegation in the agency's authorization server and broker short-lived credentials to the model API server-side.
- Route calls through your gateway so data-loss prevention, model allow-lists, quota and logging are enforced in one place.
- Stream authentication, key lifecycle, admin and inference events to the agency SIEM and align retention with records policy.
- Pilot with a bounded, unclassified workflow, document the threat model, then seek accreditation for wider use.
Try it yourself
Open the sovereign AI readiness score →
Identity assurance for public services
Public sector identity splits cleanly: staff and contractors, who need federation at an assurance level your policy defines, and services, which need strong, auditable machine credentials. Plugsky supports SSO with SCIM for the first, so joiners, movers and leavers are reflected in RBAC roles, and scoped bearer keys for the second, so no service borrows a person's account.
Citizen-facing delegation is different again. Consent, mandates and delegated authority are policy decisions that belong in the agency's own authorization server and records systems. Plugsky never needs to see the citizen token; your backend holds the model key and the delegation logic.
Deployment patterns that survive accreditation
The deployment choice follows the data classification. Region-locked planes cover workloads that must stay in-country but can share infrastructure; VPC deployment covers workloads that must stay in your network; on-prem and air-gapped cover classified or disconnected environments, where model bundles are confirmed under the licensing agreement and the same OpenAI-compatible API is exposed inside the perimeter.
- Key custody: agency-owned secret stores, documented rotation and dual control.
- Egress control: only approved endpoints and regions reachable from the workload subnet.
- Retention: minimal prompt retention aligned to records and privacy obligations.
- Evidence: auth, key and admin events exported to the SIEM, joined with model metadata.
Evidence, procurement and honest scope
Security review packs should state plainly what Plugsky provides and what the agency still owns. Plugsky provides the model API, scoped authentication, RBAC, residency and deployment options, and audit events. It does not provide identity proofing, citizen consent management, classification authority or records retention policy — those stay with the agency.
Also be precise about endpoint status: chat completions with streaming, JSON mode, function calling and embeddings are live; audio, images, files, batch, moderation, fine-tuning and assistants are labelled coming soon. Review the terms, SLA and DPA as part of procurement, and use the live pricing page for scoping conversations.
Honest comparison
| Concern | Plugsky | Consumer AI service | Agency-built platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | SSO with SCIM plus scoped service keys | Personal accounts, weak lifecycle | Reuse national identity systems |
| Citizen delegation | Stays in the agency's authorization layer | Not designed for it | Agency-owned by definition |
| Deployment | Region-locked, VPC, on-prem, air-gapped | Vendor cloud only | Agency data centre |
| Audit | Auth, key and admin events to SIEM | Opaque or limited logs | Agency logging stack |
| Time to pilot | Days on a free workspace, then scoping | Immediate but non-compliant | Quarters of build |
Frequently asked questions
Can classified workloads use Plugsky?
Air-gapped deployment keeps inference inside your perimeter and exposes the same API, with model bundles confirmed under the licensing agreement. Whether a specific classification is permitted remains the agency's assessment.
Does Plugsky replace our national identity systems?
No. Plugsky supports SSO with SCIM for staff and scoped keys for services. Citizen identity, consent and delegated authority remain in the agency's own systems.
How do we prevent data leaving the country?
Pin the workspace to a region-locked plane — EU (Frankfurt), GCC (UAE), APAC (Singapore) or US (Virginia) — or deploy on-prem or air-gapped. Keep keys and logs in the same jurisdiction.
What audit evidence is available to assessors?
Authentication, key lifecycle and administrative events can be exported to your SIEM, alongside inference metadata such as model, token counts and timestamps.
Which endpoints are live today?
Chat completions with streaming, JSON mode and function calling, plus embeddings. Audio, images, files, batch, moderation, fine-tuning and assistants endpoints are labelled coming soon.
How do we start without a procurement cycle?
Prototype on the free plan with plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite and no card, using synthetic data, then run the formal review when the design is proven.
Is the API portable if policy changes?
Yes. It is OpenAI-compatible, so moving to another compliant deployment or rolling back is a base URL and model-name change.