Security News > 2022 > November > Government by Gmail catches up with UK minister... who is reappointed anyway

The UK's Home Secretary - the minister in charge of policing and internal security - has been forced to apologize for breaching IT security protocols in government.

On another occasion, she accidentally forwarded official documents to a Member of Parliament from her Gmail account because she did not have her phone with her.

The email ended up with a member of staff employed by fellow Conservative MP Andrew Percy.

He emailed Braverman: "Can you tell me what the Ministerial Code says on this and what the processes are in the Home Office for the sharing of sensitive government documents via Gmail. Simply asking my team to delete this email and ignore it is not an acceptable response to what appears, on the face of it, to be a potentially serious breach of security I hope an explanation will be forthcoming. You are nominally in charge of the security of this nation, we have received many warnings even as lowly backbenchers about cyber security."

After the chief whip - an MP who polices Parliamentary parties - and the Prime Minister got involved, Braverman resigned in spectacular fashion in the run-up to the departure of former prime minister Liz Truss, who lasted a little less than 45 days.

"I have requested briefing and guidance by security experts on what constitutes appropriate use of Government and personal IT. I have now received this briefing," she assured MPs. Braverman's admission of an unusual approach to IT security while in government comes after an investigation was launched into the use of WhatsApp channels, with questions raised about decision-making without record-keeping or scrutiny.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/11/01/suella_braverman_gmail_breach/