Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the protection of businesses from cyber attacks after the cyber attack on Pitney Bowes.

The Government is aware of the cyber attack on Pitney Bowes and urges all organisations to ensure they have appropriate cyber security controls in place to protect themselves.

The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021) is backed with £1.9 billion investment to transform the nation’s cyber security and make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. As part of the strategy we have opened the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which provides guidance and support to help businesses be more resilient to cyber attacks. This includes the Small Business Guide and an online staff training module, plus the Board Toolkit and '10 Steps to Cyber Security' guidance for larger organisations, as well as a programme of business engagement activity. The NCSC is the lead Government organisation for managing cyber incidents and has led on 658 incidents in the last year, providing support to almost 900 victim organisations, handling almost 1,800 incidents since commencing operations.

In addition, the Government is currently undertaking a Review of Cyber Security Incentives and Regulations to help understand the effectiveness of Government support to date and what more can be done to ensure businesses of all sizes are effectively managing their cyber risks.