Every Aylesbury business can receive police's new cyber alarm combating malicious internet activity

Every business in Aylesbury can now access a police cyber alarm designed to protect companies from malicious online activity.

The scheme has been rolled out across the South East and was first made available yesterday (June 21).

This monitoring service acts as a ‘CCTV camera’ policing the traffic a business sees on the internet, officers say.

The government funded system will detect and provide regular reports of suspected malicious activity, it is designed to improve businesses resilience to cyber attacks.

If a business joins this service it will be required to install a virtual server which will then collect and process traffic logs identifying suspicious activity from the firewall.

The alarm does not see any of the content of any network traffic it monitors, instead it monitors the logs relating to the traffic to identify suspicious activity, police say.

It is designed to protect personal data, trade secrets and intellectual property.

Regular reports will detail suspicious and potentially malicious attack activity on its firewall/internet gateway. It will show them how it's being attacked, and where from, so it can improve its cyber resilience.

The scheme should also help law enforcement identify current threats and take enforcement action against cyber criminals.

Officers advise that the alarm can benefit any business with a computer network including SMEs, organisations, public and private sector, charities, education establishments and local government.

Sergeant Andy Rawlinson, of South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “The threat of cyber-attacks against businesses is increasing and police and industry need to work together to combat this threat. Police CyberAlarm is a great example of what can be achieved when policing and private industry work together.

“We know that the average cost of a cyber attack to a small business is around £11,000 and we know that there are thousands of successful attacks every day. Cyber Security should be a priority for every single business no matter how big or small that business is. This is a police led project which businesses can trust. There is no catch to signing up, it is being offered for free and we want to get as many businesses across the South East involved.

“The more members we have, the more data we get which will provide law enforcement with a much richer intelligence picture about the current and emerging threats businesses are facing. The data will also be presented back to members in the form of regular reports to help them take steps to improve their cyber security.

Businesses can sign up to get the service online here, further information will then be sent on how to install the service.