Dear Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please forward responses to the attached questions below.
I would like the above information to be provided to me as an electronic document.
If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Gloria Zimba.

1. Do you have a formal IT security strategy? (Please provide a link to the strategy)

A) Yes
B) 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 & 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

PUBLICATIONSCHEMEOFFICER (BLACKPOOL TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Our ref: FOI/04770

Dear Gloria ,

Thank you for your information request which will be processed under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).

We will aim to provide you with the requested information within the 20 working days following receipt.

If you require an update on the progress of your request, please contact our Freedom of Information service, preferably by email. However, we request that you only do so when absolutely necessary.

For ICO guidance on FOI and the Coronavirus (COVID-19), please see here:
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-an...

Please also be advised that if you are unhappy with our handling of your request then you have the right to complain to our supervisory authority – the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – but we would always ask that you contact us in the first instance. For more information, please see here: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ or call 0303 123 1113.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Meakin | Information Governance Officer
Information Governance Department
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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PUBLICATIONSCHEMEOFFICER (BLACKPOOL TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Zimba,

Please find attached our response to your recent FOI request.

Kind regards

Leanne Mcghee

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Whinney Heys Road | Blackpool | Lancashire | FY3 8NR

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