The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East (SECRC) is a police-led and not-for-profit partnership between academia and policing. The SECRC is one of nine Cyber Resilience Centre’s that have been set up as part of a network across the country to support businesses

Our mission is simple, we exist to help businesses of all sizes (although we do have a focus on SMEs, micro businesses, and sole traders) to better protect themselves in the fight against cybercrime. 

When it comes to cyber criminals, there’s nothing small about small businesses. If you’re open for business online, you could be open to cyber-attacks.

Cybercrime is a growing problem. Last year, it was reported up to 88% of UK companies suffered data breaches
over the previous 12 months. Indeed, according to one study, one small business in the UK is successfully hacked every 19 seconds.

The average cost of a cyber security breach in the UK is £1,010. However, this figure becomes greater as the size of a business increases. The cost of a cyber-attack is not only financial, with the average time large businesses spend on managing the impact amounting to 3.4 days, according to statista.com.  

The SECRC exists to help you reduce your business’s cyber-related risk and to increase your cyber resilience. We do this by developing your knowledge in key areas so that you can implement basic methods of cyber hygiene. 

If you left your windows and doors open at night, your risk of burglary is significantly increased. The impact of leaving your website unprotected or not doing regular software updates has the same level of risk, as they are your digital entry points as opposed to physical. 

To help you to guard your business from cyber-attacks in the way you would protect your premises against fire and flood, we offer a free membership package. This is not a membership package that puts heavy demand on you, instead it gives you access to regular simple, easy-to-follow guidance, tools, and resources as well as the opportunity to have a jargon-free 1:1 conversation to help you understand your current business cyber-related risks. 

The SECRC is regionally based. What we mean by that is we fall under the policing umbrella of the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU). The Unit comprises of police officers and staff drawn from police forces across the country and works in partnership with the Hampshire Constabulary, Surrey Police, Sussex Police, Thames Valley Police, UK Border Force, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to combat cross-border organised crime which includes cybercrime. 

Falling under this umbrella means we support businesses, charities and third sector organisations in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This doesn’t mean that if you’re in another area within the UK you won’t be supported, as there is a network of Cyber Resilience Centres in existence ready and waiting to help you. You can discover those here. 

To become a member of the SECRC, all you need to do is sign up for free via our website and provide us with a few basic details, such as your contact details and your company name, size and the sector your business falls within. From there, you will automatically receive our welcome pack which provides you with key resources and the latest guidance available on ways to make your business more secure. 

We will leave you to read and digest this pack before dropping you a short note from our Membership and Services Advisor a few days later to see if you have any particular questions or areas of concern and if you would like, we’ll also help to arrange your free 1:1 cyber risk conversation.

As part of your membership, every month you’ll receive our centre newsletter which will give you details on the latest cyber breaches, giving simple steps to follow should they be likely to impact you. It will also include our upcoming events and webinars providing opportunities for you to learn more.

Like any membership, there is always the opportunity to enhance your package in a way that suits you. If you did want to learn more about further ways we can support you, whether that be a discussion around providing direct services, from cyber training to system and policy checks, or to see whether you may have left any cyber doors open for cyber-criminals, we can do this too. 

We are here when you’re ready, but in the meantime, you can see what we’re up to by following our social media channels or learning more about us on our website www.secrc.co.uk 

If you are ready to join us, that’s great! You can do so by visiting www.secrc.co.uk/core-membership-sign-up