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Computer Systems: DIUS

Volume 700: debated on Monday 21 April 2008

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities. [HL3001]

It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems.

This information would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.