Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the cyber-security of services provided to the Government by Global Switch, (b) the potential implications of its Chinese ownership for national security and (c) the decision of the Australian Government to stop using the company.

We do not comment on specific national security cases or specific companies.

Ensuring the security of UK data is a priority for the government. When the government procures any service, cybersecurity is a paramount requirement. Government departments conduct thorough cybersecurity checks on all suppliers before sharing data and continuously monitor their compliance with these requirements throughout the contract's duration. If there is evidence of threats to our data, including in relation to data centres, we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to protect our national security.

We have taken decisive action to monitor, and mitigate, potential future threats to data centres. Last year this Government designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure, putting them on a level footing with emergency services systems. We work closely with industry to understand risks and manage threats to the UK’s infrastructure.

We do not comment on the security decisions of other governments.