HC Deb 11 September 2003 vol 410 cc436-7W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been(a) budgeted and (b) spent by his Department since April 2002 on (i) combating computer fraud, (ii) preventing theft of computers and (iii) safeguarding the security of information held on computer; and if he will make a statement. [128794]

Mr. Rammell

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) manages the security of its information, including information held on its computer systems, in accordance with the guidance given in the Manual of Protective Security, a comprehensive body of policy and interdepartmentally agreed security standards that is issued by the Cabinet Office.

It is not possible to identify the resources devoted to these activities, since they form a part of the FCO's overall effort to combat illegal and unauthorised actions against its computer and other systems, and the theft of official assets from its buildings.

The FCO's internal auditing services are designed to deter and detect all types of fraud, including ensuring that anti-fraud controls are integrated into all systems at the development stage.

Internal security and access controls are in part designed to act as a deterrent against theft of official assets.

IT security controls, including auditing, are deployed to safeguard the information held on official IT systems.

The FCO is also a full participant in the current programme of compliance with BS7799, the British Standard for Information Security, and expects to achieve this by the end of 2003.

London East East Midlands
Staff Percentage Staff Percentage Staff Percentage
FCO1
(i) UK based 2,430.00 41.53 0.00 0.00 970.00 16.58
(ii) Locally employed (LE) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
NDPBs2
Britain-Russia Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Assoc. for Central and Eastern Europe 4.20 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Council 621.00 8.51 4.00 0.05 1.00 0.01
Great Britain-China Centre 5.40 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission 2.50 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Westminster Foundation for Democracy 10.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Wilton Park3 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
BBC
World Service 1,290.00 82.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Monitoring 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

West Midlands South East South West
Staff Percentage Staff Percentage Staff Percentage
FCO1
(i) UK based 0.00 0.00 120.00 2.05 0.00 0.00
(ii) Locally employed (LE) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
NDPBs2
Britain-Russia Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Assoc. for Central and Eastern Europe 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Council 2.00 0.03 20.00 0.27 3.00 0.04
Great Britain-China Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Westminster Foundation for Democracy 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Wilton Park3 0.00 0.00 69.00 100.00 0.00 0.00
BBC
World Service 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Monitoring 0.00 0.00 391.00 75.48 0.00 0.00

North East North West Yorkshire
Staff Percentage Staff Percentage Staff Percentage
FCO1
(i) UK based 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
(ii) Locally employed (LE) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
NDPBs2
Britain-Russia Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Assoc. for Central and Eastern Europe 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
British Council 2.00 0.03 362.00 3.96 2.00 0.03
Great Britain-China Centre 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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