FOI release

Information about malicious emails received by the GCA since 2018

Published 3 December 2021

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7th Floor, The Cabot
25 Cabot Square
London E14 4QZ
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 215 6537
Email: Enquiries@GroceriesCode.gov.uk
www.gov.uk/gca

Sent by email 29 November 2021

Dear

Freedom of Information Act: Request for information on Groceries Code Adjudicator activities

Thank you for your email dated 11 November 2021 regarding malicious emails sent to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA). In your email you asked for the following information:

  1. How many malicious emails have been successfully blocked?
  2. What percentage of malicious emails were opened by staff?
  3. What percentage of malicious links in the emails were clicked on by staff?
  4. How many ransomware attacks were blocked by the department?
  5. How many ransomware attacks were successful?

Each within the date range of 2018 to present day, including a breakdown by year and by individual departments (e.g. separate departments, agencies, or public bodies within the main government agency), if applicable.

Duty to confirm or deny whether the GCA holds the information

Under section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FoIA”), anyone making a request for information to the GCA, as a public authority, is entitled to be informed in writing whether it holds that information, and if so, to be supplied with it.

The GCA neither confirms nor denies that it holds information falling within the description specified in your request. The duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’) does not apply, by virtue of Section 24(2) [National security] and Section 31(3) [Law enforcement] of the FOI Act.

The exemptions in s31 and s24 are qualified exemptions and we have considered the public interest arguments in confirming or denying whether the GCA holds the requested information.

We acknowledge that confirming or denying that information is held would provide reassurance about how the GCA is protected from malicious emails compromising our IT system. However, it is Government policy not to comment on security arrangements for IT systems within Departments.

We have determined that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny outweighs the public interest in confirming whether the information is held. This should not be taken as an indication that the information you requested is or is not held by the GCA.

Appeals Procedure

If you wish to complain about the way in which your request for information has been handled, you may seek an internal review by writing, setting out the reasons you feel your request has not been dealt with effectively, to:

The FOI Review Co-ordinator
Groceries Code Adjudicator
7th Floor
25 Cabot Square
London E14 4QZ

Alternatively you can email: enquiries@groceriescode.gov.uk

We will aim to deal with your Internal Review request within 20 working days of receipt or, if that is not possible, advise you of a date when we expect to complete the review. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Internal Review you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioners Office. The contact address is:

Information Commissioners Office
FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

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