§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many instances have been detected in his Department of computer(a) hacking, (b) viruses, (c) logic bombs, (d) Trojan horses or (e) other types of computer misuse, whether perpetrated by authorised or unauthorised users of computers; and how many unsuccessful attempts have been recorded.
§ Mr. CopeIt is not the policy of the Employment Department to make public details of computer security incidents since such information would be of assistance to potential attackers.
Regarding other types of computer misuse, there have been eight instances of fraud since 1981 by authorised users of systems involving falsification of input information, as instanced in the National Audit Office report on "Computer Security in Government Departments" (October 1987).
436WSpecialist advice was sought and has been acted upon on how best to prevent this in future.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department advises small businesses on ways of guarding against unauthorised internal or external penetration of computer files by hackers.
§ Mr. CopeThe Government's small firms service, now run by the Training Agency, advises small firms on a wide range of business problems. Where detailed knowledge is required, inquirers are referred to specialists.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the security of the computer systems that calculate the value of the retail prices index.
§ Mr. CopeSafeguards are incorporated into the retail prices index computer system both to prevent unauthorised access and to secure the system against computer hardware failure.