No wireless at Westminster, MPs told

MPs have been told that they will not be offered wireless technologies at Westminster until security can be guaranteed.

Parliamentary authorities have taken the step after discovering that sensitive data could be vulnerable to wireless hacking.

Sir Archy Kirkwood, president of the House of Commons Commission, told MPs: "No services using wireless technologies will be offered until [security] concerns have been addressed."

The move follows reports that mobile phones used at Westminster were vulnerable to the so-called 'bluesnarfing' type of hacking.

In these cases, the attacker hacks into mobile phones that use Bluetooth wireless communication protocols.

A report by The Times found 46 phones vulnerable to this type of attack in a 12-minute test in the Palace of Westminster.

The day after the report, officials from the House of Commons Commission wrote to MPs advising them to disable the Bluetooth functionality on their phones.

"The House of Commons authorities have taken a cautious approach to the introduction of wireless technology within Westminster because of security concerns," Kirkwood told MPs.