Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2019 to Question 276281 on Huawei: 5G, if he will meet with operators to raise cybersecurity CNI standards.
Answered by David Lidington
As stated in my answer to Question 276281 of 16 July, regular meetings take place between telecommunications operators and HM Government officials from the National Cyber Security Centre, Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of computers in the public sector that are using Windows 7; and whether his Department has set a deadline for the withdrawal of Windows 7 in advance of Microsofts' end of support for that operating system.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Decisions about technology choices rest with individual departments and bodies in the public sector. As such, Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.
The Cabinet Office itself does not have any computers using Windows 7.
The National Cyber Security Centre has published information on the upcoming removal of Windows 7 Support, here:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/one-year-left-windows-7-support
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Microsoft on support for Windows 7 operating systems used by the public sector; and whether he has requested an extension of that support.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Details of Ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272302 on Huawei: 5G, whether he has met with the operators that are known not to follow Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre advice and guidance.
Answered by David Lidington
Regular meetings take place between telecommunications operators and HM Government officials from the National Cyber Security Centre, Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The National Cyber Security Centre engage with every operator who uses the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre to manage cyber security risks within their networks. Other operators may use the guidance that is publicly available on the NCSC website, which we cannot track, or advice from other relevant bodies such as Ofcom, the regulator.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2019 to Question 274634, what cost/benefit analyses have been conducted for each of the catalyst challenges; and if he will publish those analyses.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given to Question 271623 on 2 July 2019.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister or official is responsible for ensuring cross-governmental compliance with the Minimum Cyber Security Standard.
Answered by David Lidington
I am accountable to Parliament for the National Cyber Security Strategy and the accompanying investment programme. I am also the lead Minister for the cyber resilience of the government sector.
The Government Chief Security Officer (GCSO) leads the Government Security Function, which seeks to build the capacity and capabilities of security professionals across UK government departments, covering physical, human and information security.
The GCSO is also Director General of the Government Security Group within the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for the oversight, coordination and delivery of protective security capabilities within all central government departments, their agencies and arms-length bodies.
The responsibility for security, including risk management and policy implementation, sits with the Accounting Officer and the executive board of each department.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2019 to Question 271623 on the GovTech Fund, whether (a) business cases and (b) budgets were produced for each of the 11 challenges prior to their advertisement.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The complete selection criteria required for all GovTech Catalyst challenges can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-submit-a-govtech-catalyst-challenge#criteria
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2019 to Question 255390 on Cabinet Office: Public Appointments, what relationship the Chief Data Officer will have with the cross-government Data Advisory Board.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
A Chief Data Officer would lead on government's use of data, working closely with the Data Advisory Board which provides strategic oversight for the collection and use of data held by government departments
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2019 to Question 270401, whether the number of operators who use Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre advice is collated and monitored centrally.
Answered by David Lidington
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) engages with every operator who uses the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) to manage cyber security risks within
their networks. The number of operators that use HCSEC is recorded centrally but for commercial reasons we will not release the number or the names of operators. All of the
significant commercial networks in the UK who use Huawei have access to and work with the HCSEC. It is the responsibility of operators to ensure the security and resilience of
their networks. Other operators may use the guidance that is publicly available on the NCSC website, which we cannot track, or advice from other relevant bodies such as Ofcom, the regulator.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2019 to Question 255390, whether strategic oversight for the collection and use of data held by Government departments provided by the cross-government Data Advisory Board, chaired by the Chief Executive of the Civil Service, is a permanent arrangement.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Yes. The cross-government Data Advisory Board, chaired by the Chief Executive of the Civil Service, is a permanent board that provides strategic oversight for the collection and use of data held by Government departments.