E-crime unit seeks insight from IT industry

The Metropolitan Police's nascent e-crime unit is stepping up its efforts to communicate with UK businesses, inviting 150 corporate security professionals to a consultation later this month.

The Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) event will take place in Reading on 24 February, and is to be held under the auspices of the Corporate IT Forum.

The e-crime unit is replacing the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which was folded into the Serious Organised Crime Agency in April 2006. It is charged with co-ordinating law enforcement of all online offences, and it will lead national investigations into the most serious e-crimes when it commences operations this spring.

The £7m police unit has emphasised that it plans to work closely with UK businesses for both the reporting of crime and in tracking down cybercriminals.

In December, the PCeU said it was in talks with the Confederation of British Industry and other business bodies. The talks covered the use of online investigators at banks and retailers to help spot the origin of large attacks on their customers, with the details being then passed on to the e-crime unit for investigation.

Last month, the joint architect of the PCeU, detective superintendent Charlie McMurdie, said she expected businesses to offer their support in the form of IT staff resources rather than funds, as a result of the financial crisis.

At the Corporate IT Forum consultation, the PCeU's Gordon Holmes will detail the role and responsibilities of the new unit and its similarities and differences with the NHTCU. He will also outline incident-reporting procedures for businesses.

The event will also cover discussions with the hand-picked delegates about how to implement user awareness training across organisations, and it will feature presentations from British Airways and Barclays on the practical measures they have taken to fight cybercrime.