A brand-new tech solution that is designed to protect small businesses against cybercrime is being offered to smaller firms throughout South Yorkshire.

This solution is called Police CyberAlarm, and the financing for it came from the government. It is a virtual tool that will track internet traffic on the computer of a company deploying it, highlighting potential threats from cybercriminals. The tool is being described as similar to CCTV cameras, only for computers.

Once installed, Police CyberAlarm will pick up on any activity that appears to be suspicious and provide business owners with reports of this. They can then use these reports to make sure that their systems are fully secured against attacks from cybercriminals.

It is being offered to small firms in South Yorkshire at no cost, and it will enable them to safeguard data such as intellectual property, financial information and trade secrets.

Employing a small business accountant from Doncaster can also help protect South Yorkshire firms by reducing the need to store sensitive financial data on their own systems.

Speaking to the Rotherham Advertiser as the tool was officially launched, David Norris from Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit stated that:

“We know that the average cost of a cyber attack to a small business is around £11,000 and we know that there are thousands of successful attacks nationwide every day.”

Norris went on to add that firms of all sizes should be making cybersecurity one of their top priorities for that reason.