Security News > 2021 > April > Spy agency GCHQ told me Gmail's more secure than Microsoft 365, insists British MP as facepalming security bods tell him to zip it

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has publicly claimed GCHQ sources told him Gmail was more secure than Parliament's own Microsoft Office 365 deployment - but both Parliament and a GCHQ offshoot have told him to stop being silly.

"I was told by friends at GCHQ that I was better off sticking to Gmail rather than using the parliamentary system because it was more secure," Tugendhat told the BBC's Today Programme.

Today's email security outburst prompted officials to start wagging their fingers at Tugendhat after he suggested using Google's email service.

A Parliamentary spokesperson said in a statement: "We have robust cybersecurity measures in place and work closely with partners in the National Cyber Security Centre. In line with guidance from the NCSC we would always encourage MPs to use parliamentary email, which offers significantly higher levels of security than external providers."

A spokesman for that told us: "The NCSC works closely with the Parliamentary Digital Service who make use of the NCSC's cyber security guidance, support and Active Cyber Defence services. The Parliamentary email system follows NCSC best practice, including the use of two-factor authentication, and MPs should continue to use it."

The mother of parliaments adopted Office 365 in 2013, with the House of Lords Management Board deciding at the time that "Only a small amount of House data" required "a high level of security".

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/04/14/tom_tugendhat_email_security_outburst/