Oral Answers to Questions

Chi Onwurah Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2016 Commons Chamber

The Attorney General was asked—

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

1. What recent steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to set out its approach to prosecuting cybercrime.

[The Solicitor General (Robert Buckland)]

The Crown Prosecution Service has this very month published guidelines on crimes involving social media, and it will publish a broader cybercrime strategy and guidance for prosecutors this autumn. All CPS prosecutors already have access to training on how to deal with cybercrime.

[Chi Onwurah]

Last week’s internet of things bot attack, which brought down Twitter and Spotify, among other sites, was the result of tens of millions of household devices, such as baby monitors and televisions, being hijacked by cyber-criminals. This Government have been perilously slow to recognise the real harm that online scams and viruses do to our constituents. What is the Solicitor General doing to ensure that the CPS can respond to internet of things attacks?