Speeches by Spencer.

“Q Thank you for coming to give evidence this afternoon. I have a couple of questions. First, how can industry and cyber-security researchers collaborate more effectively to increase cyber-resilience in the network and information systems of regulated sectors? Secondly, and building on that, are there any model schemes …”

“Q Thank you, Richard, for giving evidence this afternoon. I have a couple of questions. First, in your view, was the regulatory enforcement regime under NIS1 effective, and does the Bill, as drafted, tackle those challenges? Secondly, could you explain how information sharing and analysis centres improve cyber-resilien…”

“Q It was about China’s super-embassy in London. What cyber-security risks do you think that poses, given your experience and background? Chung Ching Kwong: There is not a lot of publicly available information on the sensitive cabling that is around the area, so I cannot confidently say what is really going to happen if…”

“Q Thank you for coming to give evidence this afternoon. I have two questions. First, what more could the Government be doing to make regulated sectors aware of the risks you have just laid out and what they can do to address them? Secondly, it has been reported recently that communications of senior Government aides we…”

“Q From all three of your perspectives, are you quite clear about where your individual institutional responsibilities lie? Is there clear water between the organisations? When Ian Levy from Amazon gave evidence this morning, I was struck when he said that Amazon is regulated in the cyber-security space by four regulato…”

“Q Natalie, I am going single out Ofcom, which has a lot on its plate at the moment, particularly when it comes to the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 and all its other duties. Are you set up to administer your duties under the Bill? Are your resources siloed, given Ofcom’s competing considerations, particu…”

“Q The issues about complexity and how loosely the Bill is drafted have come up quite a few times, and you have given good evidence regarding your concerns. What cost to business do you anticipate if the Bill stays so loose, with so much left to secondary legislation? Jill Broom: There is probably a broader point around…”

“Q Thank you for giving evidence this morning. The Bill would not have prevented recent attacks on high-profile parts of UK industry such as Co-op, Marks and Sparks, and Jaguar Land Rover. What more do you think can be done to mitigate the risk to jobs, supply chains and the UK economy from further large-scale cyber-att…”

“Q Thanks for coming to give evidence this afternoon. I have two questions—one for each of you. Chris, from Fortinet’s perspective, what more do you think the Government can do to support SMEs to improve their cyber-resilience, while at the same time ensuring that the burden of regulation remains proportionate, particul…”

“Q Notwithstanding other components to the criteria one may seek to use or will use, is there a danger that—although this is clearly not the intention in the drafting—through the back door, our entire economy ends up being in scope of this Bill? Carla Baker: I think that is part of the issue about not having clear crite…”

“Q Thank you, Jen and David, for coming to give evidence to us morning. Two questions. First, one to you, Jen. Lots of UK corporations have been the subject of recent major cyber-attacks, such as Jaguar Land Rover and M&S. Under the Bill as drafted, these remain outside the scope of the regulation. In your view, wha…”

“Q Thank you for coming to speak to us this morning. I have a different question for each of you, so I will rattle them off and ask you to go through them. Starting with Ben from Darktrace, how are developing and emerging technologies such as AI and post-quantum crypto changing the nature of cyber-security threats? Do y…”

“Q38 Thank you for giving your time this afternoon. I have a couple of questions, which I will deal with in one go. The first is for Natalie. Ofcom’s role in cyber-security regulations will be expanded significantly under the Bill. What preparation has Ofcom undertaken to ensure it has sufficient capacity for effective …”

“Q That sounds slightly like an argument for having a single regulator, as opposed to multiple sector regulators. I apologise if I am putting words into your mouth. Natalie Black: That is definitely not what I am saying. You can cut the cake in many different ways. From where I sit—from my experience to date—you need sp…”

“Q Do you think that would be helpful in this context? Richard Starnes: Yes. We have FS-ISAC operating in the United Kingdom and in Europe, with all the major banks, but if you took this and replicated it on an industry-by-industry basis, particularly ones in CNI, that would be helpful. It would also help with informati…”

“Q Do you think there is a potential need for guardrails? Kanishka Narayan: I think the guardrails in the Bill are very important, absolutely. The Bill provides that, where there is an impact on organisations or regulators, there is an appropriate requirement for both deep consultation and an affirmative motion of the H…”

“Q Thank you very much for coming in to give us evidence this afternoon, and thank you for your service. I have two questions. Who are the main threat actors in cyber-attacks on UK networks and information systems—what do they break down into, in terms of state actors, affiliates and criminal gangs? Secondly, on ransomw…”

“Q What conversations have you had with the Secretary of State regarding guardrails on the extensive powers in this Bill that were referred to earlier? Kanishka Narayan: I have spoken to the Secretary of State about the Bill, including the reserve powers, and we have agreed that the policy objective is very clear. I do …”

“Q Do you not think that, as the Minister taking this through the Commons, you should have also had some of those meetings and consultations? Kanishka Narayan: I have had some meetings but, as the Minister in charge of this Bill, she has been very engaged with businesses, so I think that is fitting. We have obviously wo…”

“Q I assume that you are referring to the previous Minister, who you took over from? Kanishka Narayan: I am referring to the Minister for Digital Economy, who is in the other place.”