PCC issues warning about 'biggest threat to UK businesses'

Police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Donna Jones, has called on companies to do all they can to protect themselves from cybercrime.

This came as she hosted a business-focussed cyber event on Friday, November 21, at the police training HQ in Netley, where she offered support to help avoid cyberattacks.

Representatives from companies including Primark, Boots, Southern Co-op and Ikea attended the event to learn about the operational and financial impacts cybercrime can have.

PCC Donna Jones meeting with business owners and regional security IT leads for national brands. (Image: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)

Ms Jones said: "We know that the highest type of crime reported to police is domestic violence, but the highest type of crime taking place anywhere in the UK is related to fraud and scams.

"The biggest threat of cybercrime in the UK comes either from hackers or criminal gangs, with many looking to gain money from people.

"We are now seeing massive growth in online scams which is a huge threat to the hundreds of thousands of businesses we have across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."

The event coincided with International Fraud Awareness Week and during it, the PCC funded website security assessments for all attendees.

Recent high-profile cyberattacks on companies like Jaguar Land Rover, M&S, the Co-op and Harrods have highlighted the scale of the threat.

These attacks have caused significant disruptions, including halting online sales and grounding flights at London Heathrow Airport.

Ms Jones continued: "Cyberattacks can happen to anyone, so I would encourage all businesses across our two counties to remain vigilant, take steps to ensure passwords are secure, use two-factor authentication and report all incidents of cybercrime to police."

Inspector Chris White from the South-East Cyber Resilience Centre. (Image: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)

The South-East Cyber Resilience Centre said 14 per cent of UK businesses realised they needed new measures to prevent cyberattacks in the last 12 months.

Despite this, only 23 per cent have a formal cyber incident response plan in place.

Inspector Chris White, head of cyber and innovation at the South-East Cyber Resilience Centre, said: "There is not one business I’ve dealt with in the South that hasn’t been affected by negative cyber events.

"The easiest way to protect social media and online accounts is to turn on two-step verification – ideally with an authenticator app."