Computer Systems: DCLG

Lord Harris of Haringey
asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of the Department for Communities and Local Government, 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. [HL3141]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews)
It is not in the interests of UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against IT systems. This 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.