Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 7 October (HL1909), what success the police have had in identifying perpetrators of phishing emails; and what success the Action Fraud reporting has had in identifying and convicting the perpetrators of those crimes.
Answered by Lord Bates
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is working to disrupt the use of phishing by serious and organised cyber criminals. A recent operation, delivered in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police, resulted in the conviction of three offenders for a total of 21 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud and other fraud related offences. The NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit provides support to regional and local policing teams’ investigations into phishing, where appropriate.
Action Fraud is the UK’s central reporting service for fraud and financially motivated cyber crime: it is not an investigative service. All reports of fraud are made to Action Fraud rather than local police forces, and are then analysed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. Both are run by the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud.
Reports received by Action Fraud are evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation, and to identify links between seemingly unconnected incidents. Where there is enough evidence available and a viable lead, actionable intelligence packages are created and sent to the appropriate police force to consider whether enforcement activity should take place. It is then for the local force to respond.
The Government also funds the Cyber Streetwise campaign, which encourages the public and Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt safer online behaviour. The second phase of the campaign was launched earlier this month, including a refreshed website with further advice and support on adopting sensible online behaviours.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 14 October (HL1908), how many arrests and convictions of criminals who have extracted money from victims in phishing scams have taken place in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Bates
The data requested is not available.
Centrally held data on arrests and convictions for fraud held by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice respectively cannot separately identify whether they were a result of phishing scams.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total number of phishing emails requesting a transfer of funds received by United Kingdom citizens each year.
Answered by Lord Bates
It is not possible to give an exact figure for the total number of phishing emails received by United Kingdom citizens each year. Published data from the Oxford Internet Institute estimates that 19 per cent of internet users experienced phishing attempts in 2013, down from 22 per cent in 2011. Phishing attempts, whether successful or not, can be reported to the Action Fraud reporting centre, run by the City of London Police, which is the UK’s central point for reporting fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime.
The cyber security threat was recognised by the Government as a Tier One threat to national security. In response, we are investing £860 million over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to improve our ability to understand and tackle this threat. Around 10% of NCSP funding has been used to improve capabilities of the police to investigate cyber crime, including creating the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency, and setting up dedicated cyber teams in each of the Regional Organised Crime Units in England and Wales. We have also launched an awareness campaign, known as Cyber StreetWise, to encourage individuals and businesses to adopt sensible online behaviours so they can avoid the dangers of scams such as phishing. The details can be viewed at www.cyberstreetwise.com.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to protect the public against phishing emails requesting a transfer of funds and (2) to identify the perpetrators; and what assessment they have made of the success of those steps.
Answered by Lord Bates
The need to tackle cyber crime was identified as a key objective of the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, which is underpinned by £860 million of funding over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP).
We have invested around 10% of this in improving the capabilities of law enforcement to respond to cyber crime. The National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency has undertaken high profile operations in the last few months to tackle some of the most serious cases of malware, responsible for infecting computers and stealing banking and other information. This work was undertaken in conjunction with our international partners, to tackle those cyber criminals operating internationally.
We are also working to support the public and industry in better protecting themselves from this type of criminality. The NCSP funds the Cyber Streetwise awareness campaign, which encourages the public and Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt safer online behaviour.
The second phase of the campaign will launch shortly, including a refreshed website with further advice and support. In December last year, the Government also published a set of Guiding Principles with Internet Service Providers which agreed minimum standards for supporting their customers to stay safe online.
The Government also funds Action Fraud, the central reporting point for fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime. This service also provides information on the latest fraud threats, including phishing emails, and individuals can sign up to be alerted when new threats emerge.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Conflict Pool in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.
Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.
Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.
We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Participation Fund in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.
Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.
Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.
We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Economic Facility in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.
Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.
Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.
We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of Egypt's latest parliamentary election laws.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The new parliamentary law, passed by interim President Adly Mansour, includes many changes to the structure of the Egyptian parliament. The law increases the number of parliamentary seats to 567, with 420 seats being elected by single member constituencies and 120 elected through party lists.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the parliamentary elections and the need for political inclusiveness with former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 14 May. On 3 June, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement urging Egypt's leaders to ensure that the transition leads towards accountable and democratic governance, underpinned by strong and accountable institutions.
Asked by: Lord Stone of Blackheath (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds are available via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development to help the people of Egypt to promote good governance, economic development and the rule of law.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the following funds:
1) The Arab Partnership Economic Facility
2) The Arab Partnership Participation Fund, and
3) The Conflict Pool