Latest news with #ToryMinisters
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Telegraph
British troops and Afghans' passport details targeted in cyber attack
Thousands of UK troops, government officials and Afghans flying into a British airport have had their data breached following a cyber attack, according to the Ministry of Defence. An alert was sent to about 3,700 affected individuals on Friday, with some having had their data breached for the second time. Personal information including passport number, name, date of birth could have been targeted after emails containing flight information were hacked, according to The Times. Former Tory ministers have also been affected by the data breach. It happened after Inflite, a third-party subcontractor used by the Ministry of Defence, suffered a ransomware attack, it was reported on Friday. The MoD alert warned: 'There is a risk that some of your or your family's personal information may be affected. This may include passport details (including name, data of birth, and passport number) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) reference numbers.' It urged those emailed to 'please remain vigilant and be alert to unexpected communication or unusual activity'. 'Criminal gang could be behind attack' It is believed a criminal gang could be behind the attack that was revealed on Friday, but Iran and Russia have not been ruled out as being involved. Of the 3,700 individuals targeted, more than 100 British personnel have been affected, according to sources. Afghans who were rescued from the Taliban and travelled through London Stansted airport may also been targeted. There is no suggestion that information has been released publicly or on the dark web. A Government spokesman said: 'We were recently notified that a third-party subcontractor to a supplier experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to a small number of its emails that contained basic personal information. 'We take data security extremely seriously, and are going above and beyond our legal duties in informing all potentially affected individuals. The incident has not posed any threat to individuals' safety, nor compromised any Government systems.' On Aug 10, a statement published to Inflite The Jet Centre's website said the breach involved data from January and March 2024. Inflite, which offers ground-handling services for flights to the airport through Inflite The Jet Centre, is used by the UK to support Afghans travelling for refuge to the UK and also is operating flights for the Cabinet Office. It comes after, in February 2022, the details of almost 25,000 Afghans – including 18,800 soldiers – who had applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy were released 'in error' by a defence official. The then Tory government sought, and was granted, a super injunction to keep the breach a secret as it established a covert relocation scheme to bring the affected Afghan soldiers and their family members to the UK, amid fears they could be targeted by the Taliban.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What is the GERS report and how is it calculated?
THE Scottish Government is due to publish its latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report on Wednesday morning. It comes around every year and is often at the centre of the debate on Scottish independence. But what is GERS and how is it all calculated? What is GERS? The GERS figures were published for the first time in 1992 under then-prime minister John Major. At the time, Tory ministers in the Scotland Office believed it would help inform the debate on devolution. Essentially, the report estimates the difference between what Scotland raises in taxation and what is spent on its public services. How is GERS calculated? GERS is produced by independent civil servant statisticians. The Scottish Government has previously said that GERS is a National Statistics publication, which means it is 'produced independently of Scottish ministers and has been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority as being produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics'. It added: 'This means the statistics have been found to meet user needs, to be methodologically sound, explained well and produced free of political interference.' The total spend is made up of Scottish and local government services as well as UK welfare spending and pensions in Scotland. It also includes UK Government spending in non-devolved areas such as defence and allocates a proportion of the UK's debt interest payments to Scotland. When it comes to revenue, there have previously been complaints that the data used is not collected for Scotland and has to be estimated using UK figures. However, in recent years, Scottish income tax, council tax, business rates, profits made by Scottish Water, landfill tax, land and building transactions tax and local authority user charges and fees are included. The Fraser of Allander Institute has said that estimates are not unusual when it comes to economic statistics. Does it represent the whole economy? On the Scottish Government's website, it's made clear that the GERS is only a report on public sector revenue and expenditure. It therefore 'does not directly report on Scotland's wider economy'. Anybody interested in this should refer to other economic statistics products. This includes the quarterly Gross Domestic Product figures or Quarterly National Accounts Scotland.
