Written question asked by Gareth Davies (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 May 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 May 2021. It was answered by James Heappey (Conservative) on Wednesday, 2 June 2021 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

National Security: Cybersecurity

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to upgrade British cyber security capabilities in response to misinformation and wide-scale hacking by malign state sponsored entities.

Answer: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes cyber security and resilience very seriously and conducts a range of activities to ensure its systems are protected against attack from malign state and non-state actors. As a result of the Integrated Review settlement, the MOD is increasing its already substantial investment in defensive cyber capabilities. These are delivered through three dedicated programmes: Defensive Cyber Operations, Cyber Resilience Programme and the Joint Crypt Key Programme. The MOD continues to work closely with industry and partners across Government, especially the National Cyber Security Centre. To guard against disinformation, Defence provides support to the cross-departmental Counter Disinformation Unit's campaigns. This work is led by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Secondary information