Thank you for your email which is receiving our attention. We will get
back to you with a response as soon as we can.
If your email is a request for information, it will be handled under the
Freedom of Information Act and we will aim to provide you with a response
as soon as possible, but at least within the 20 working days specified in
the Act.

[1]The Crown Estate

1 St James's Market, London, SW1Y 4AH
[2]thecrownestate.co.uk
[3]LinkedIn   [4]Twitter   [5]Instagram

[6][The Crown Estate request email]

LEGAL DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT NOTICE
The information in this message, including any attachments, is intended
solely for the use of the person to whom it is addressed. It may be
confidential and subject to legal professional privilege and it should not
be disclosed to or used by anyone else. If you receive this message in
error please let the sender know straight away. The Crown Estate's head
office is at 1 St James's Market London SW1Y 4AH.

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6. mailto:[The Crown Estate request email]

Dear Matt Cosby

Your information request (1472)

Thank you for your email of 13 June 2022, which we have considered under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Please find answers to your
questions below.

Q1: Servers: Model/s, quantity and purchased date

We maintain 15 Physical Servers, these are mainly HP ProLiant servers, the
majority are between 3 and 5 years old.

Q2: Storage: Model and size in TB used and available, and purchased date

We use mainly HP, and do not hold data for the size used or available. The
majority are between 3 and 5 years old.

Q3: Backup: media and size

No information held (managed as a service).

Q4: Please list your IT Partner / Suppliers

We have concluded that section 31(1)(a) FOIA is engaged in relation to
this part of your information request. Please see the annex to this email
for the public interest test that we have carried out in relation to this
exemption.

I hope that this information is helpful. However, if you are not satisfied
with the way we have handled your information request, you may appeal our
decision which will then be investigated through an internal review.
Beyond that, you have the right to refer any complaint directly to the
[1]Information Commissioner.

Yours sincerely

Aimee Gasston

Transparency Manager

Public interest test – section 31(1)(a) FOIA

Section 31(1)(a) FOIA is the exemption for information where disclosure
would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. Further
information about this exemption is available on the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website [2]here. In considering the public
interest test, we have considered whether disclosing the information
requested could potentially render The Crown Estate’s systems vulnerable
to attack and so effectively facilitate criminal activity.

In this case, we have concluded that the balance of the public interest is
in favour of withholding information under the exemption at section
31(1)(a) FOIA. Considerations in favour of the release of the information
include that there is a key public interest in upholding general
principles of transparency and accountability in sharing information about
how we operate as a public body.

However, this general principle is balanced by the fact that information
about our digital systems are likely only to be of limited public
interest, and instead more of interest in private or commercial senses. In
addition, there is the serious consideration that the release of this
information into the public domain could make The Crown Estate more
vulnerable to crime, as it could compromise its security and facilitate a
malicious attack on its IT systems via open source intelligence. Although
the information requested may not in isolation enable a security breach,
we have concluded that it would help to build a picture which would be
useful to a third party individual with malicious intent if combined with
other information. This is known as the ‘mosaic’ effect. As you may be
aware, we must consider each disclosure under FOIA as if to the world at
large – it is not that we ascribe these potential effects to you
individually, rather as an effect of making information available in the
public domain.

A malicious attack could compromise the work we do as a public
organisation, perhaps resulting in breaches under data protection law and
corollary harm to individuals, and – as it would cost money to remedy –
also diminish the financial returns which The Crown Estate is able to
return to the public purse. As a result, we have decided that in this case
the public interest weighs convincingly in favour of non-disclosure.

Aimee Gasston   |   Transparency Manager
M: +44 7552 863 512   T: +44 20 7851 5046

[3]The Crown Estate

1 St James's Market, London, SW1Y 4AH
[4]thecrownestate.co.uk
[5]LinkedIn   [6]Twitter   [7]Instagram

[8][email address]

LEGAL DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT NOTICE
The information in this message, including any attachments, is intended
solely for the use of the person to whom it is addressed. It may be
confidential and subject to legal professional privilege and it should not
be disclosed to or used by anyone else. If you receive this message in
error please let the sender know straight away. The Crown Estate's head
office is at 1 St James's Market London SW1Y 4AH.

We cannot accept liability resulting from email transmission.

From: Matt Cosby <[9][FOI #870710 email]>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 5:22 PM
To: Enquiries <[10][The Crown Estate request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - IT Estate

Dear The Crown Estate,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please may I request the
following information:

Please provide details of your IT estate:

Servers: Model/s, quantity and purchased date

Storage: Model and size in TB used and available, and purchased date

Backup: media and size

Please list your IT Partner / Suppliers

Yours faithfully,

Matt Cosby

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #870710 email]

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For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
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[16]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

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References

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13. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
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