Cyber-security and UK Democracy Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Cyber-security and UK Democracy

Greg Clark Excerpts
Monday 25th March 2024

(1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Oliver Dowden Portrait The Deputy Prime Minister
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I think everything about the hon. Gentleman’s question suggests that he did not actually listen to the statement I made. I said that there had been a démarche, and that is exactly what is happening. I have already set out the position in relation to the foreign influence registration system.

Greg Clark Portrait Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)
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The Deputy Prime Minister knows that cyber-attacks on UK institutions come from a wide range of actors—states and criminals—as we saw in the recent big attack on the British Library, and it is important that our laws are up to date to protect against this. In 2022 the Government announced that they would update the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 to

“protect essential and digital services against increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber attacks both now and in the future.”

In 2022 that was to be done as soon as parliamentary time allowed. Why has it not been done, and when will it be done?

Oliver Dowden Portrait The Deputy Prime Minister
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The work is pretty much complete, and as soon as parliamentary time allows we will be bringing forward those measures.