Iranian State-sponsored Cyber Attacks: Mitigation and Preparation
Debate between Lord Peach and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent(3 days, 14 hours ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My Lords, I am disappointed that not everybody looks at the NCSC’s website in the same way that I do to ensure that they are updated. The noble Lord is right that we need to make sure that people are aware. It was one of the reasons why it was so important in the run-up to the national alerts we had on all our phones last year that materials were made available about what else could be done in terms of resilience and what other things needed to be done. I urge all noble Lords to make sure they are also protected. I hate to do this, but there is a cyber offer available to every Member of your Lordships’ House, and I believe only 10 of us have accessed it. It would be very good if all Members of your Lordships’ House took up the security offering provided to protect us while we talk about others too.
Lord Peach (CB)
My Lords, sticking with the theme, Iran is a sophisticated actor and works closely with Russia. We know the threats that Russia can generate, which are more than cyber. It is not just time for a national conversation; it is time to strengthen our national security narrative for the whole country.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I think it is fair to say that of course I agree with the noble and gallant Lord. It is also about making sure the foundations we have in place are right too. We go from national security to national defence within this space, as well as our wider resilience programme. It is one of the reasons why the Rycroft review into funding of political parties is so important and why the Representation of the People Bill, which is in the other place, is key. It is also why we are investing £170 million in Sovereign encrypted technology so that we can protect ourselves. The noble Lord is absolutely right that the challenges from Iran are not one-dimensional; they are multi-dimensional and we all need to be prepared.
Armed Forces Recruitment
Debate between Lord Peach and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness. At the heart of the contract is making sure there is one clear oversight to ensure of where we have missing skills. So, if a recruit says, “I want to be a chef in the Navy”, but we actually have too many vacancies for chefs in the RAF, we will actively encourage them to consider the RAF. Although this is candidate centred, we will for the first time be able to have an assessment of where our gaps are across the whole of the Armed Forces. If Serco fails, there are financial penalties.
Lord Peach (CB)
My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. As the Minister has touched on reserves a couple of times in this brief session, does she agree that, following the SDR, we need to look at a surge in reserves—not just volunteers but really paying attention to our regular reserves? Given the threats and risks we face as a nation, we need to become very serious about mobilisation and think about the narrative for our society on defence, national security and especially national resilience.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble and gallant Lord makes an excellent point regarding the strength and capacity of our reserves. They are a core part of our Armed Forces and it is vital that they are treated as such, which is why they are also included in the single recruitment contract. We are currently reviewing, through the prism of the strategic defence review, how we recruit reserves and what additional support we need to put in place, up to and including potential legislation.