The UK is at risk of a catastrophic cyberattack - are we prepared? PAC scrutinises Govt cyber resilience
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) scrutinises the Government’s cyber resilience at 3.30pm on Monday 10 March. The session follows the publication of a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) examining the issue.
Meeting details
The question is no longer ‘if’ government will face a damaging cyberattack, but how severe the impacts may be as the sophistication and number of attacks continues to rise. As government’s operations become increasingly digitised, so too does the severity of potential impacts resulting from cyberattacks. In an effort to combat this, the Government published its cyber security strategy in 2022, which sets out its plans to ensure the public sector is resilient to cyberattacks by 2030.
However, a recent report by the NAO highlighted the scale of the issues facing Government as it attempts to build resilience, noting the diversity of systems used and the continued use of outdated or ‘legacy’ IT as particular complications. The report also highlighted Government’s longstanding issues in bridging the gap between the digital skills it needs and the digital skills it has in its workforce, with notable shortages seen as far back as 2011.
The Committee will hear from senior Cabinet Office and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology officials, with likely topics including:
- Examining the Government’s understanding of the severity of the cyber threats it could face;
- Exploring how successfully the cyber security strategy is being implemented across systems and Departments; and
- Questioning if the Government is on track to deliver cyberattack resilience across public bodies by 2030.