Improving Cyber Resilience
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Bishop of St Albans
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the cyber resilience of UK businesses, organisations and government systems.
Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)
Did noble Lords miss me? The cyber threat to the UK is significant and growing; recent attacks on retailers and the Legal Aid Agency are just the latest examples of this. This Government are introducing the cyber security and resilience Bill to ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that UK citizens and businesses rely on are secure. We are also working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of government systems and are providing more support and services from the centre, such as the Government Cyber Coordination Centre, which brings together cyber defenders to share data and respond more effectively to cyber threats, vulnerabilities and incidents.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, the recent CYBERUK conference reported that the number of cyberattacks had doubled in the past year. This is costing tens—indeed, hundreds—of millions of pounds to businesses and is making people very nervous about their personal data. It is having a huge effect right across society. I welcome the fact that a new Bill is coming in, but we cannot wait for that. What is the National Cyber Security Centre doing now to review its strategies to proactively get businesses to sign up? Not many—a relatively small number—have signed up. Does it have sufficient staff to deal with this growing problem?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The right reverend Prelate makes a timely and important intervention, given recent events. Our online and offline worlds are merging, and there is no clear differential any more. This is a different frontier in that crime. This is an evolving and increasingly sophisticated threat, and we need to make sure that we are ahead of it. Candidly, as the NAO report earlier this year said, government cybersecurity practices are not yet where they need to be—but we are investing. Because of the report, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has been clear that we will bring forward a new cybersecurity strategy this year, and the NCSC is making sure that all resources are available. I urge all noble Lords to look at its website and specifically at what tools are available through the Cyber Essentials system. Companies that sign up for Cyber Essentials controls are 80% less likely to make a claim on cyber insurance than those without certification.
Child Rape Gangs
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Bishop of St Albans
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I, for one, will definitely watch the documentary outlined by my noble friend, after this evening’s votes. On the action we will take, some of the recommendations made by Professor Jay are very complex, including the creation of a child protection agency; it requires further work and consultation with victims. This Government want to take a victim-centred approach and we are working with all key stakeholders to develop the CPA. We want to make sure that we build it incrementally, with clarity on the end state—that is the right approach and one that, I believe, Professor Jay agrees with.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, I support the idea of having local inquiries, but some local authorities do not wish to have an inquiry. What will His Majesty’s Government do about that? Secondly, is the Minister convinced that these local authorities, some of which are financially challenged, have the resources to undertake this important work?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the right reverend Prelate for both his question and the work he has done on this issue within the Church. We will set out the framework next month for how the local inquiries can be done and the associated funding that will be in place. We are very clear that everything must be victim-centred and that we use best practice when looking at these issues. We are working with those who delivered the best practice in Telford to make sure that, where there is community demand and, most importantly, victim-led demand, the resources and processes are in place to deliver a local inquiry.