FOI 61-26: A request for information on attempts to access specific websites using devices connected to the Assembly network outlined in response to FOI 38-26
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our ref: FoI 61-26
15 September 2026
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 19 August 2026 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your request was as follows:
'I am writing to make a… request relating to the Assembly Commission's response to FOI 38-26, dated 16 July 2026.
That response states:
“Following review of the available data, approximately 2,926 events are considered more likely to relate to user-initiated access, with the remaining events assessed as system-generated or automated activity.”
In relation specifically to those approximately 2,926 events, please provide:
- A breakdown of the number of events by domain/hostname, showing the number of events associated with each domain or hostname.
- If domain/hostname information cannot be disclosed, please instead provide the most detailed website category, subcategory or description held for those events, together with the number in each category.
- A breakdown of the 2,926 events by calendar month.
- A breakdown, if held electronically, by:
- - day of the week; and
- - hour of the day.
- The total number of unique domains/hostnames represented by the approximately 2,926 events.
- Any recorded methodology, criteria, search parameters or instructions used to distinguish the approximately 2,926 events considered more likely to relate to user-initiated access from events assessed as system-generated or automated activity.
- If held, the underlying dataset from which the figure of approximately 2,926 was calculated. I would be content for IP addresses, usernames, device identifiers, query parameters, session identifiers and any other information capable of identifying an individual to be removed or redacted’.
Our response
The Assembly Commission holds information relevant to your request. Further information is available at the attached Appendix A.
1. A breakdown of the number of events by domain/hostname, showing the number of events associated with each domain or hostname.
A breakdown of the number of events by domain/hostname and the number of events associated with each domain/hostname is provided in the attached Appendix A, tab "Question 1,2".
2. If domain/hostname information cannot be disclosed, please instead provide the most detailed website category, subcategory or description held for those events, together with the number in each category.
The website category information held for the events, together with the number of events in each category, is provided in the attached Appendix A, tab "Question 1,2".
3. A breakdown of the 2,926 events by calendar month.
A breakdown of the 2,926 events by calendar month is provided in the attached Appendix A, tab "Question 3".
4. A breakdown, if held electronically, by: day of the week; and hour of the day.
A breakdown of the events by day of the week is provided in the attached Appendix A file, tab "Question 4a". A breakdown of the events by hour of the day is provided in the attached Appendix A, tab "Question 4b".
5. The total number of unique domains/hostnames represented by the approximately 2,926 events.
The total number of unique domains/hostnames represented within the dataset is 129. Further detail is provided in the attached Appendix A , tab "Question 5".
6. Any recorded methodology, criteria, search parameters or instructions used to distinguish the approximately 2,926 events considered more likely to relate to user-initiated access from events assessed as system-generated or automated activity.
Following review of the available data, the subset of 2,926 events was derived by excluding events associated with the following hostnames:
ts1.explicit.bing.net
ts2.explicit.bing.net
ts3.explicit.bing.net
ts4.explicit.bing.net
tse1.explicit.bing.net
tse2.explicit.bing.net
7. If held, the underlying dataset from which the figure of approximately 2,926 was calculated.
The underlying dataset from which the figure of 2,926 events was calculated is provided in the attached Appendix A, tab "Master Data".
Further Information
You may request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised.
Yours sincerely,
INFORMATION STANDARDS
