Cyber-security 2025-03-06

2025-03-06

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Direct Answer
Johanna Baxter Lab
Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Context
Following concerns expressed about ransomware attacks, Johanna Baxter refers to discussions with Ukrainian officials regarding the extensive Russian cyber-attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure since the invasion.
Last week I spoke to businesses and officials working on Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure who are on the frontline of Russian cyber-attacks. They told me that, since the invasion, there have been cyber-attacks on virtually every aspect of Ukrainian life, highlighting the scope of the damage they have done to civilian and military operations. Can my right hon. Friend say a little more about how we are learning the lessons from this conflict and what we are doing to protect our own national infrastructure from Russian cyber-attacks?
The Government are helping Ukraine’s cyber-defenders to detect, disrupt and deter Russian cyber-attacks. The programme is backed by £16 million of UK funding, using world-leading expertise from both the private and public sectors to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure. We understand that the protection of cyber-assets is part of modern warfare, and we are providing this help for Ukraine, just as we have supplied it with a large number of weapons over the past three years.
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Q2 Partial Answer
Richard Holden Con
Basildon and Billericay
Context
Mr Holden discusses ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, noting that it is required to have an in-house Chinese Communist Party committee. He mentions increased attacks from China on UK national infrastructure and cyber-networks.
ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, is required as a Chinese company to have an in-house Chinese Communist party committee. We all know that attacks from China on our national infrastructure as well as on our cyber-networks are becoming increasingly common, and it is clear that elements of the Chinese Government are behind them. Yet, astonishingly, the Government are still failing to fully declare ministerial meetings with TikTok representatives. Will the Minister ensure that meetings with TikTok executives are declared by Government Ministers alongside other senior media executive registrations, given TikTok’s huge presence in the media space, the massive public influence it has and the known cyber-risks posed by this Chinese platform?
There is a well-established process for transparency about meetings between Government Ministers and outside organisations, and TikTok will be treated in the same way as anyone else.
Assessment & feedback
specific request to declare meetings with TikTok executives
Treated In The Same Way
Response accuracy