New police-led resilience centre launched to protect capital’s businesses from cybercrime

Figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau show that more than £1.8 billion was lost to fraud and cybercrime in London over the past year, with 35 per cent of small and micro businesses suffering at least one attack or breach – which equates to around 250,000 businesses.

The new police-led Cyber Resilience Centre is a network of industry experts who will work with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), City of London Police and British Transport Police to help the capital’s smaller businesses be better prepared against a cyber-attack and support them when they have been targeted.

With London businesses increasingly targeted by phishing, hacking and ransomware attacks, industry leaders are warning that every organisation and business is a potential target for cyber criminals, with small and medium businesses are often hit harder by a loss of funds.

MPS Commander Catherine Roper said: “It is essential that we come together to help London businesses protect themselves against cybercrime.

“This crime type is rapidly increasing, and often initially unseen, and yet has devastating effects on businesses and individuals.

“The exciting launch of the new Cyber Resilience Centre supports a collaboration between key partners to support small and medium businesses across London from becoming victims to cyber-attacks.

“It also provides the vital platform to share best practice, knowledge and practical operational advice to ensure a strong defence to protect and prepare businesses from cybercrime.

“The Met is committed, with its partners, to do everything it can to tackle cybercrime – and today is a significant step forward.”

The new centre was unveiled by the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, at City Hall on Tuesday (October 25).

She said: “Far too many small businesses in the capital are impacted by cybercrime, with billions of pounds lost and thousands of lives impacted each year.

“Our new Cyber Resilience Centre will help businesses stay safe online and protect them from cyber criminals. This is all part of our work to build a safer, more prosperous city for everyone and I urge all businesses in London to sign-up and use the centre’s services.”

Over the next three years, the centre aims to help support around 20,000 London businesses most vulnerable to attacks, providing small business owners with practical online safety advice and face-to-face visits. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is investing £200,000 to support the centre’s community outreach programme, which includes the development of self-help toolkits for businesses and ‘How-To’ video guides on improving their resilience against cyber-attacks.

Businesses will be able to sign up for a free London Cyber Resilience Centre membership online and get instant access to safety advice, monthly cyber threat reports from the National Cyber Security Centre, latest guidance from the MPS and City of London Police’s dedicated cyber teams and a monthly newsletter with hints and tips on improving cyber resilience. They will also be able to contact the Cyber Resilience team with any urgent questions and receive training for staff.

Chief executive officer of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London, Simon Newman, said: “I’m delighted to be bringing the launch of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London to City Hall. We’ve been generously supported by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and it’s fantastic to be able to celebrate our shared vision together.

“I’m really ambitious about the future of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London. I want to see it grow as a partnership between policing, industry and academia; for us to be seen as a trusted, reliable partner to the Capital’s SME community; and for our Cyber PATH programme to produce consistently high-quality talent.

In ten years’ time, I want to look back and be able to say that we have helped make London the safest city in the world to do business online.”

Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board, James Thomson, added: “We must ensure that the City and the wider national economy is one of the safest places to do business in the world. The London Cyber Resilience Centre will do just that – protecting the capital’s businesses and their customers, and helping to deliver a thriving economy.

“Becoming a victim of cybercrime ruins lives, whether it’s individuals or businesses that are the target and this is an enormous opportunity to make a difference, by preventing people from becoming victims in the first place.

“Reducing the vulnerability in our business community will ultimately protect us all.”

Cyber Resilience Centres receive an annual grant from the Home Office to help support businesses that are most vulnerable to cyber-attacks.