Cyber security community called on to help educate capital’s small businesses about cyber crime and give them practical advice
London is calling on the cyber security community to help keep the city’s more than one million small businesses safe from cyber crime.
“Cyber crime is a growing problem for everyone, but while individuals are protected by their banks, small businesses can be sunk if their [banking] details are hacked,” said Rebecca Lawrence, chief executive, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac).
“Cyber crime is a huge area of crime, and one that policing alone cannot solve,” she said. “We will not be able to police ourselves out of this problem, but we can take simple protective measures.”
Lawrence said enabling small businesses to make themselves safer from cyber attack is the driving concept behind the London Digital Security Centre (LDSC), which was set up as a not-for-profit organisation in 2015 by Mopac and is run as a joint venture between the mayor of London, the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police.
“I believe that with more players partnering with the LDSC, we can really provide the step-change we need to see in security in London, and that it is a model that is replicable beyond – but we do need more partners,” she said.
Rajesh Agrawal, London deputy mayor for business, said small businesses are the lifeblood of the city’s economy, but typically lack the resources of big business to ensure they are cyber secure.
Source: Computer Weekly