Written question asked by Michael Fabricant (Conservative) on Friday, 23 January 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 February 2004. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Monday, 2 February 2004 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Cabinet Office

Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to (a) identify points of vulnerability of and (b) prevent damage to the critical information infrastructure for public sector networks; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he has taken to (a) identify points of vulnerability of and (b) prevent damage to the critical information infrastructure for public sector networks; and if he will make a statement. [151504] Mr. Alexander: The UK Government have a continuous programme of work that identifies vulnerabilities and prevents damage to the critical national infrastructure, public sector networks and other inter-dependent information systems. The Central Sponsor for Information Assurance (CSIA) works closely with the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC), who lead in protecting the critical national infrastructure from electronic attack. The CSIA also works with partners across the public and private sector to assure Government that the risks to the national information infrastructure are appropriately managed. For security reasons it would not be appropriate to discuss specific vulnerabilities which have been identified, however the CSIA and its partners continue to work with owners of critical national infrastructure to mitigate risks.

Secondary information