The East Midlands Cyber Crime Unit is hosting a Cyber Security ‘Pop-Up Shop’ at the Derby Theatre, in the Intu Shopping Centre, on Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7, from 10am to 4pm each day. Alongside officers from the unit will be representatives from the University of Derby, Get Safe Online and specialist IT companies from across the region. You are invited to bring their devices along for a check if the installed security is up to scratch, or to advise what to do if not. You can simply call in to get answers to any questions you may have.
The shop is one of four being opened across the country for the weekend, as part of a cyber-crime initiative led by the National Crime Agency (NCA). Deputy Chief Constable for the East Midlands Peter Goodman is the ACPO national lead for cyber-crime. He said: “The fight against cyber-criminals is being conducted on a number of fronts. Firstly, we have developed, and continue to develop, the capability and response required to protect the public through the specialist cyber-crime teams which form part of each Regional Organised Crime Unit. The technology and expertise we now have at our disposal means offenders no longer have the luxury of anonymity that the internet once gave them. We are identifying them, arresting them and disrupting their criminal activity. But it is also essential to raise awareness of what we can all do to prevent falling victim to cyber-criminals and the Pop-Up Shop event is a superb opportunity to discover how we can keep ourselves safe online.”
Detective Inspector Ed McBryde-Wilding, of the East Midlands Regional Cyber Crime Unit, said: “The internet has become such an integral part of our lives now, the likelihood is that far more of us of likely become victims of cyber-crime than of burglary at some time in our lives. However, like many crimes, there is much we can all do to prevent it. Installing the right type of virus or malware protection software is essential. Taking this simple step alone can greatly reduce the prospect of falling victim to cyber-crime. We know technology can seem extremely daunting to many of us, so we have brought together a selection of experts from the world of IT who can explain how best to protect your device and answer any questions you may have about it. This an unprecedented opportunity to drop in and get such a range of valuable advice under one roof, and all for free.”
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has worked with four police forces to hold cyber-security pop-up shops – the others are in London, Reading and Manchester. The NCA says that it has developed customised intelligence reports for internet hosting companies and service providers, acting on data provided by CERT-UK (the UK’s Computer Emergency Response Team) and the Shadowserver Foundation.
So far identified are 5,531 compromises on servers within the UK each of which can be used to send out spam email, launch attacks against websites or servers, or install phishing websites to gain access to sensitive information. With phishing representing one of the most common cyber crime threats to the public and businesses, the NCA estimates that organisations acting on this advice could, between them, clean up to half of the phishing attacks that typically originate from the UK each month. After a number of high-profile malware threats to the UK, the NCA says that it’s conducting this activity to assist network administrators who manage key parts of the UK internet infrastructure.
The reports will be issued by officers from ten police Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), comprised of 43 police forces, as well as Police Scotland and Police Service of Northern Ireland. They will notify businesses of cyber crime threats on their systems and will also include information on how they can subscribe to customised live threat data feeds.
