New tool to help protect businesses from cyber attacks

Businesses in Derbyshire are among the first in the country to be offered access to a new tool to help protect them from the increasing threat of cyber attacks.

Police CyberAlarm is being piloted in four regions across the UK, including the East Midlands, as part of a government-funded policing support package.

Police CyberAlarm acts as a 'CCTV camera' monitoring the traffic seen by an organisation's connection to the internet. It will detect and provide regular reports of suspected malicious activity, enabling organisations to minimise their vulnerabilities and protect themselves.

It also allows the police to understand the current UK cyber threat and ensure that their resources can be focused accordingly to tackle it most effectively. The system is aimed at small & medium enterprises and is being offered for free.

Jodie Nevin, Cyber Protect Officer at Derbyshire Constabulary, said: “The threat of cyber attacks to businesses is very real and we need to work together to combat this.

"Police CyberAlarm helps businesses and law enforcement get up-to-date knowledge of attack types and trends which is absolutely key to having a robust defence.

“The data collected by the system does not contain any details of the information being sent. There is no risk to personal data, trade secrets or intellectual property.

"This is purely a monitoring system and does not interfere with normal network operations. It is a small virtual appliance outside the network and does not delay the traffic through the gateway.

“Members of Police CyberAlarm will receive weekly or monthly reports detailing activity discovered on their devices.

"This report provides details of potential attacks for further investigation and also enables member organisations to minimise their vulnerabilities.

“This is a great opportunity for business within Derbyshire, and the wider region, to really understand the threats they are facing from cyber criminals which they can use to improve their cyber security.”

Businesses can sign up for a membership as part of the pilot which runs until the 31 March 2021 via https://cyberalarm.police.uk/contact/. They will then receive a unique code which, once added to the website, will provide access to full instructions and how to install Police CyberAlarm.