Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the cyber attack against Capita on 31 March 2023 was reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) are working with Capita to understand any risks to government data following the incident in March. Investigations, including client consultation are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail for security reasons.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the cyber attack against Capita on discovered on 31 March 2023, whether his Department has identified any personal information of defence personnel for sale online following that incident.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) are working with Capita to understand any risks to government data following the incident in March. Investigations, including client consultation are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail for security reasons.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the cyber attack against Capita on 31 March 2023, whether his Department believe Russian hackers were responsible for the incident.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) are working with Capita to understand any risks to government data following the incident in March. Investigations, including client consultation are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail for security reasons.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the cyber attack against Capita discovered on 31 March 2023, what personal data was accessed following this attack.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) are working with Capita to understand any risks to government data following the incident in March. Investigations, including client consultation are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail for security reasons.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the cyber attack against Capita on 31 March 2023, whether his Department has launched an investigation into whether any Armed Forces recruitment databases were compromised during the attack.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department was notified by Capita on Friday 31 March of the disruption to their IT systems, and is currently investigating this incident in collaboration with Capita to understand the scale and impact. I can confirm that Army recruiting operations continue to operate as normal.
The Department places the highest importance on the security of its data and has robust procedures in place to ensure adherence to the highest standards of data protection.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference the cyber attack against Capita on 31 March 2023, whether any personal information of Armed Forces recruits was compromised during that attack.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department was notified by Capita on Friday 31 March of the disruption to their IT systems, and is currently investigating this incident in collaboration with Capita to understand the scale and impact. I can confirm that Army recruiting operations continue to operate as normal.
The Department places the highest importance on the security of its data and has robust procedures in place to ensure adherence to the highest standards of data protection.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the cyber attack against Capita on 31 March 2023, on what dates did his Department speak with Capita about the attack and its potential impact on his Department.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department was notified by Capita on Friday 31 March of the disruption to their IT systems, and is currently investigating this incident in collaboration with Capita to understand the scale and impact. I can confirm that Army recruiting operations continue to operate as normal.
The Department places the highest importance on the security of its data and has robust procedures in place to ensure adherence to the highest standards of data protection.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect (a) parliamentarians and (b) political refugees from China from state-sponsored cyber attacks by China.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government continually assesses potential threats in the UK, and takes protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. The Home Office works closely with its partners to protect people identified as being at risk, and to ensure the UK is a safe and welcoming place for those who choose to settle here.
All attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce was established last year to help protect the democratic integrity of the UK from foreign interference.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to help prevent the illegal sale of devices to hack vehicles' Bluetooth devices and access people's personal mobile phone data.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime.
We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime.
A vehicle crime intelligence group has been set up to monitor emerging trends in vehicle crime, such as devices used to steal vehicles and ways in which criminals can exploit new vehicle technology. This group provides a link between the Home Office, police, vehicle manufacturers and Thatcham Research, the automotive insurer’s research centre.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to strengthen the UK’s response to cyber threats.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Our National Cyber Strategy, launched in December 2021, sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes our approach to making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks and countering cyber threats. It is supported by £2.6 billion of investment up to 2024 - 25.
The UK will do what is necessary to protect ourselves through our world leading capability in this area. We are vigilant to cyber threats, wherever they come from, and ready to defend against them. We are continuing to work to make the UK more resilient to cyber threats and raise the cost for those who would do us harm.