Information Technology Request - Freedom of information requests
Title or Description
Information Technology Request
FOI Number
15909
Date Received
15/12/2021
Type of Request
FOI
Request or Question
1. Do you have a formal IT security strategy? (Please provide a link to the strategy) A) YesB) No
2. Does this strategy specifically address the monitoring of network attached device configurations to identify any malicious or non-malicious change to the device configuration?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Don't know
3. If yes to Question 2, how do you manage this identification process – is it:
A) Totally automated – all configuration changes are identified and flagged without manual intervention.
B) Semi-automated – it's a mixture of manual processes and tools that help track and identify configuration changes.
C) Mainly manual – most elements of the identification of configuration changes are manual.
4. Have you ever encountered a situation where user services have been disrupted due to an accidental/non malicious change that had been made to a device configuration?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Don't know
5. If a piece of malware was maliciously uploaded to a device on your network, how quickly do you think it would be identified and isolated?
A) Immediately
B) Within days
C) Within weeks
D) Not sure
6. How many devices do you have attached to your network that require monitoring?
A) Physical Servers: record number
B) PC's and Notebooks: record number
7. Have you ever discovered devices attached to the network that you weren't previously aware of?
A) Yes
B) No
If yes, how do you manage this identification process – is it:
A) Totally automated – all device configuration changes are identified and flagged without manual intervention.
B) Semi-automated – it's a mixture of manual processes and tools that help track and identify unplanned device configuration changes.
C) Mainly manual – most elements of the identification of unexpected device configuration changes are manual.
8. How many physical devices (IP's) do you have attached to your network that require monitoring for configuration vulnerabilities?
Record Number:
9. Have you suffered any external security attacks that have used malware on a network attached device to help breach your security measures?
A) Never
B) Not in the last 1-12 months
C) Not in the last 12-36 months
10. Have you ever experienced service disruption to users due to an accidental, non-malicious change being made to device configurations?
A) Never
B) Not in the last 1-12 months
C) Not in the last 12-36 months
11. When a scheduled audit takes place for the likes of PSN or Cyber Essentials, how likely are you to get significant numbers of audit fails relating to the status of the IT infrastructure?
A) Never
B) Occasionally
C) Frequently
D) Always
Response
1. No
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. Yes
5. Immediately
6. see below
7. No
8. see below
Record Number:
9. see below
10. Same as Q4.
11. Occasionally
For question 6, 8 and 9 Scottish Borders Council wish to apply the following exemption in the FOISA:
Section 35: Law Enforcement Exemptions - Law Enforcement (section 35) (itspublicknowledge.info)
Section 35 (1) (a) exempts information if its disclosure is likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.
Section 35 is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In FOISA there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.
The public interest has now concluded and the balance of the public interest has found in favour of withholding information covered by the section 35(1) (a) exemption. Considerations in favour of the releasing the information included consideration of public interest in transparency and accountability and disclosure of information about Scottish Borders Council procedures and commercial outsourcing contracts.
However, release of this information would make Scottish Borders Council more vulnerable to crime; namely, a malicious attack on Scottish Borders Council computer systems. As such release of this information would be seen to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime, by making Scottish Borders Council computer systems more vulnerable to hacking, therefore facilitating the possibility of a criminal offence being carried out. There is an overwhelming public interest in keeping Scottish Borders Council computer systems secure which would be served by non-disclosure. This would outweigh any benefits of information release. It has therefore been decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the information on this occasion. Please note that this decision does not imply that you intend to engage in any criminal or malicious activities. However as the Freedom of Information Scotland Act is an open access regime, this exemption has been applied to protect Scottish Borders Council systems.
