§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the adequacy by safeguards of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise computer system against unauthorised entry.
§ Mr. LilleyHer Majesty's Customs and Excise completed a thorough review of information systems security arrangements in 1988. As a result, existing measures have been strengthened including the establishment of a computer security committee and the development of an information system security strategy in accordance with CCTA-approved methods.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give consideration to the potential risks of unauthorised entry into the Customs and Excise computer system.
§ Mr. LilleyThese risks are kept under regular review by a computer security committee which uses the CCTA-approved risk analysis and management methodology.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the computerisation of Inland Revenue files, what steps he proposes to take to ensure the safeguarding of these files from unauthorised entry by internal or external computer hackers.
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§ Mr. Norman LamontAppropriate safeguards are built into the Inland Revenue's various on-line computer systems from the earliest design stages to prevent unauthorised access and ensure the integrity of the computer files. In particular, data transmission takes place over private circuits which denies external hackers the opportunity of calling up the systems. Terminals used by staff to access the on-line systems are subject to password control, and transactions are recorded in audit trails.
The Inland Revenue's computer systems are continuously monitored for possible abuse, and reviewed whenever either a significant change is made to an existing system or a new security threat emerges. The Department has in place a structure of security committees to oversee and monitor this control process.