Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 555: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of and the records kept by his Department of attempted hacking or suspected cyber attacks or other malicious computer security breaches committed against his Department's computer systems. [1732/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am informed that my Department's website was subjected to a malicious security breach in March 2007 when a minor vulnerability was exploited. No data was compromised as a result of this incident. The Department immediately engaged external experts to review the security of the website and any potential security weaknesses were addressed. The Department's computer systems, like all Internet-connected computer systems, are constantly under threat but any malicious attempts to connect to my Department's systems are automatically blocked and recorded in security logs by industry recognised security systems. I understand there are in the region of 50 blocked attempts made each week on the systems.

With the current information available to officials in my Department, I understand that since March 2007, my Department's core computer network has not had any further malicious computer security breaches. All electronic data held by my Department is protected using industry recognised best practices. I am further informed that data security measures are regularly reviewed in the light of changing circumstances and that any appropriate measures identified are implemented.