Soca chief in cyber crime call to arms

Soca has warned that cyber crime may be the new kid on the block but needs to be taken seriously

Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) chair Sir Ian Andrews used the Homeland & Border Security conference in London today to warn the security community to underestimate cyber crime at its peril.

In a speech explaining how the agency has responded to the threat posed by organised crime to UK security and prosperity, Andrews argued that e-crime “is the one I really think we should worry about”.

“It’s easy to access, low cost, anonymous, instantaneous and ideally suited to home working,” he added. “What is frightening is the speed at which new applications are introduced and the speed they are exploited by the criminal fraternity.”

Andrews warned that although cyber security is “the new kid on the block” when it comes to threats to UK national security, the fact it is borderless and not connected to any jurisdictional system means Soca has had to resort to disruptive tactics to make a difference.

“Just as it offers new opportunities for the criminals, so it offers new opportunities for us in that they leave their footprint [on internet-connected computers],” he explained.

“We must become cleverer and more skilful in responding to these new opportunities.”

Martin Sutherland, managing director of technology consultancy Detica, argued that public and private partnership is the key to success.

“A lot of the assets in cyber space are held by the private sector but a lot of the capabilities are held by the public sector,” he said.

“We will need close collaboration to ensure we have the capacity to deal with the problem and to develop a highly skilled industry around cyber defence.”

Just yesterday, security vendor McAfee announced it was working with Soca and Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) experts to train them up in various aspects of malware tracking and crime prevention.