Written question asked by Eleanor Smith (Labour) on Friday, 1 December 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 December 2017. It was answered by Matt Hancock (Conservative) on Monday, 11 December 2017 on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Data Protection

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure safeguarding measures are in place to ensure that hackers are unable to steal the personal details of customers.

Answer: We are committed including through the National Cyber Security Strategy to making the UK the safest place to live and work online and ensuring all organisations are secure and resilient to cyber threats. A wide range of Government guidance and support is available to help organisations protect themselves online and fulfil their data protection responsibilities. This includes the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Security Small Business Guide, the Cyber Essentials scheme and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. Under the existing Data Protection Act organisations must ensure appropriate cyber security measures are in place to protect personal data. The forthcoming Data Protection Bill will enhance the existing regime by requiring organisations to report data breaches quickly and through the introduction of higher fines for non-compliance.

Secondary information