Police and tech firms not on same page with cyber crime, says TechUK

A recent report suggests that there could be an improvement in how tech companies and police forces co-operate in tackling cyber crime.

The report comes after the Office for National Statistics released numbers showing that they predicted 2.5m cyber crimes in the UK in 2014.

TechUK’s Partners Against Crime report asserts that the increase in cyber crime needs the industry and police to collaborate to tackle crimes by fraudsters and hackers.

TechUK says that the number of cyber crimes that caused minimal damage, such as simple attacks aimed at small firms and individuals, including ransomware and bank fraud, make for a difficult challenge for authorities. However, they fall short on consistency when tackling threats, according to the report.

TechUK also claims that there needs to be more of an obligation on the part of the tech industry to alert the authorities of cyber crimes. Firms also need to be encouraged to implement preventative measures through such schemes as Cyber Essentials – an assessment designed to test suppliers before they can bid for government contracts.

The report said:

“This is a challenge that the police cannot be expected to meet on their own and businesses, consumer groups and the cyber security industry all have a responsibility to help tackle the threat.”

Businesses outside of the tech industry are not without responsibility either. They can do more in order to protect themselves against the latest cyber crimes doing the rounds by ensuring that they make cyber security jobs available to those with the required skills.