On the first of October, London’s deputy mayor for policing and crime Stephen Greenhalgh set up the London Digital Security Centre. The centre is the first specialist centre dedicated to help SMEs against cyber criminals.

The LDSC centre brings together business, technology and policy experts with the aim of offering the latest cyber industry guidance and advice.

“The mission is to prevent crime from happening in the first place by ensuring that businesses are as diligent in ensuring their digital infrastructure is robust and as hard to penetrate as they are about protecting their physical office space and assets,” said Greenhalgh.

The LDSC represents a great opportunity to support London’s SMEs which employ over two million people across the capital and make up almost 50% of its business turnover, equalling £430 billion.

Millions of pounds are lost to cyber crime each year and online security is a growing concern for SMEs with 250 or fewer employees that face many of the same threats as larger organisations, but typically lack the resources to address them.

According to LDSC head Patrick Nuttall “The LDSC is here to help London businesses that may not be able to afford the in-house expertise found in larger companies to identify and manage cyber risks, enabling them to safely harness the power of technology.”

Sources:

Computer Weekly

London City Hall