Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of reports that British officials are being targeted for recruitment by hostile states using online recruitment platforms.

We aim, through our Personnel Security Strategy, to continuously build a security conscious organisation where staff understand the spectrum of evolving threats, including the potential to be targeted for recruitment by hostile states using online recruitment platforms. We take our responsibilities in this area seriously, and leverage a variety of methods to keep the Department and its people safe, and to fulfil our mission to safeguard national security. These include delivering security training, maintaining a strong internal security culture, recognising signs of people risk through comprehensive oversight, and delivering a range of support and guidance to staff to keep them aware of the latest threats. Moreover, the Department makes use of specific cross-HMG programmes such as 'Think Before You link' https://www.cpni.gov.uk/security-campaigns/think-you-link and has introduced a Cyber Confident programme to improve awareness of the Cyber threat, to help personnel spot potential targeting from hostile states and act appropriately if this occurs.