Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role the Armed Forces played in response to the (a) Parliament and (b) Wannacry cyber attacks in 2017.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD), including the Armed Forces, continually reviews its security position and its ability to assist civil authorities in the event of a major incident, cyber or otherwise.

After the Parliament cyber-attack in 2017, the MOD reviewed its policy and position on user remote access to emails; however, the MOD architecture and risk position is distinctly different to that of Parliament.

During the WannaCry cyber-attack, the MOD focused its efforts on defending the MOD network from WannaCry and similar exploits. The MOD liaised with Other Government Departments (OGD) and the NHS and a review of our connections to the NHS was undertaken.

For both incidents the MOD was not called upon to provide support to Parliament, OGDs or the NHS.