OBR Budget Leak: Investigation Launched by Former Cybersecurity Chief
Here’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on the budget leak incident:
* The Leak: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) key budget document (Economic and Fiscal Outlook) was accessible from outside the association approximately 45 minutes before Chancellor Rachel Reeves was scheduled to present the budget in Parliament. It wasn’t published on the OBR’s webpage, but via an accessible link.
* Investigation: The OBR has launched an inquiry into the leak, led by its chair, Richard Hughes. Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, is providing expert input.
* Apology: Richard Hughes has apologized to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Meg Hillier (chair of the Treasury select committee) for the incident. He expressed being “personally mortified” and vowed to prevent it from happening again.
* Chancellor’s Support: Despite the breach, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has publicly expressed her confidence in Richard Hughes and the OBR.
* Cause (Unclear): The investigation is focused on how the link was accessed, and it’s not yet determined if the leak was malicious or accidental. the involvement of a cybersecurity expert doesn’t necessarily indicate a malicious attack is suspected.
* disruption: The early release of the document meant key policy details where public before the Chancellor’s official proclamation, causing disruption to parliamentary proceedings.