Flick is delighted that the Home secretary has announced a £50 million investment to tackle organised crime online, protecting families from criminals who exploit the anonymity of the internet. She set up an all party parliamentary group on Cyber Security when she was an MP stating that, ‘unless you are an expert in the field, it is very difficult to understand how it affects us. One of the best seminars we held was about how easy it is to hack into our lives and take over very quickly. Twice my email account has been hacked and all the emails disappeared. I felt violated.’
The seminar urged people to make sure that different passwords are used for different accounts so it makes it harder for people to hack. Following all the news about Facebook and Cambridge Analytics, people are becoming more aware that accounts and information are being monitored. Flick says ‘although there are benefits to having an interconnected world, it is easily misused and frightening for most of us who don’t understand how it works behind the scenes. Just taking simple measures like different passwords and not opening up emails that look suspicious or unexpected is important. With companies like BT, it is best not to follow their links but go direct to their website instead’.
The Home Secretary is also launching a crackdown on the Dark Web and funding will be invested in making sure that police and prosecutors have the skills and resources they need.
Hampshire Constabulary are leading the way on this with the Chief of the Hampshire Specials, Tom Haye, becoming the national lead on cyber specials and volunteers. This means that the best cyber talent in the country can get involved with fighting cyber crime.