To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of computers in (a) local authority children’s services departments, (b) Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service and (c) schools were found to be infected with malware in 2008. (275420)

Information on the number or proportion of computers infected with malware is not collected centrally from either local authority children’s services or from schools. However many schools do employ a managed service for their ICT support and those organisations will normally maintain this information and report to schools.

The Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (CAFCASS) computer network is supported by an outsourced IT service provider who do not routinely capture this information. However, the CAFCASS network and equipment is protected by anti-virus software and firewalls that prevent unauthorised access, so the potential for a malware infection is low. CAFCASS have no record of any infection by malware in 2008.