BUSINSESSES in Worcestershire have been urged to be cyber smart and join a new initiative to tackle internet crime.

Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are urging businesses to sign up to the West Midlands regional Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP), which is being launched today (Thursday).

CiSP is a joint, collaborative initiative between industry and government to share cyber threat and vulnerability information.

Through a secure online social networking tool, members are able to exchange information.

This communication increases overall situational awareness of cyber threats and therefore reduces the impact upon businesses. All organisations are able to join the initiative, which is free.

DCI Sean Paley from Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police specialist operations unit, said: "The internet plays an increasingly important role in the world of business.

"While this has brought about many benefits, it is important organisations are also aware of the risks associated with operating in cyber space and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.

"Research shows that basic information risk management can prevent around 80 per cent of cyber attacks suffered by businesses.

"The West Midlands regional CiSP provides organisations with an excellent opportunity to bolster their resilience against cyber crime and reduce the risk of falling victim."

Nationally, fraud affects one in four small businesses every year and combined with cyber crime it costs the UK economy an estimated £52 billion (AFI, 2013).

The national CiSP is part of the UK Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-UK.

Launched in March 2014, CERT-UK works closely with industry, government and academia to enhance UK cyber resilience.

For more information on CiSP go to www.cert.gov.uk/cisp and email rccu@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk