Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help protect foundational telecommunications infrastructure from state-sponsored cyber espionage.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK's telecommunications infrastructure.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 established a robust security framework requiring public telecoms providers to identify, reduce and prepare for security compromises to their networks and services. The definition of ‘security compromise’ in the Act includes (amongst other things): ‘any unauthorised access to, interference with or exploitation of the network or service or anything that enables such access, interference or exploitation’.

DCMS works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, as the UK's lead technical authority for cyber security, to identify and assess risks to telecommunications infrastructure, including those arising from hostile state cyber activity.

Under the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, public telecoms providers must report significant security compromises to Ofcom. This includes incidents where a security compromise impacts the confidentiality and/or integrity of the network or service, such as espionage.