Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Domestic Cyber-resilience

Thursday 27 October 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is taking steps to strengthen domestic cyber-resilience through public warnings and outreach activities.
  • Ongoing analysis of tactics used in cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government websites is being conducted by relevant agencies.
  • The Home Secretary resigned following the use of a separate and unsecure email address.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sheryll Murray Con
Ukraine Foreign Affairs Science & Technology
Context

The question arises due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has prompted concerns about cyber security and resilience. The MP is addressing the potential impact on domestic infrastructure.

Question

What steps are being taken by the Government to strengthen domestic cyber-resilience against potential impacts from Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Are there public warnings and outreach activities?

Answer from Oliver Dowden

Vladimir Putin's invasion is illegal, barbaric and will not stand. The Cabinet Office and the National Cyber Security Centre play a key role. Building on commitments in the national cyber strategy, we are running public warnings and guidance campaigns, and undertaking significant outreach across critical infrastructure to keep businesses and individuals safe.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific measures or timeline for strengthening cyber-resilience.

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Q2 Sheryll Murray Con
Ukraine
Context

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there was a significant cyber-attack on Ukrainian government websites. The MP wants to know if an analysis has been completed and whether we are prepared for similar tactics.

Question

Has a full analysis been completed of the tactics used in the cyber-attack that saw many Ukrainian Government websites go down? Are we confident we could now defend against those tactics?

Answer from Oliver Dowden

Work is ongoing 24 hours a day by the Cabinet Office and relevant agencies. Based on expert technical analysis, several cyber-attacks have been attributed to Russia before and since its invasion of Ukraine, indicating tireless ongoing work.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer lacks specifics about the completed analysis or confidence in defending against similar tactics.

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Q3 Chris Bryant Lab Rhondda and Ogmore
Foreign Affairs Standards & Ethics
Context

The MP is concerned about the Home Secretary using an insecure email address, given Russia's cyber capabilities. The question addresses safety concerns and whether this practice needs addressing.

Question

Does the Home Secretary's use of a separate and unsecure email address need to be addressed? Does not forgetting past events since 2014 embolden Putin?

Answer from Oliver Dowden

The Home Secretary accepted errors, apologised and resigned. This was an appropriate course of action following her conduct with a separate email address.

Not addressed: The question about the secure use of emails was not directly answered; instead, it focuses on past events since 2014.

How: Changing Subject

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