UK organisations can now act sooner to protect themselves from cyber threats, thanks to a new alerts feature from Police CyberAlarm, the free, police-led cyber security service.
PCA Alerts replaces monthly vulnerability reports with instant notifications whenever significant vulnerabilities are found through website and IP vulnerability scanning. That gives members more time to investigate and fix issues before they can be exploited, reducing the risk of costly incidents and disruption.
How PCA Alerts works
Alerts are graded by severity, so members can see which vulnerabilities need the most urgent attention. Each notification explains the issue and recommends what to do, so organisations can act themselves or work with their IT providers. Members can track the status of each alert, and Police CyberAlarm uses targeted scanning to check whether vulnerabilities have been fixed, giving a clearer picture of progress over time.
Nick Bell, Police CyberAlarm Lead, said: “The introduction of PCA Alerts is an important step forward in how we help organisations protect themselves against cyber incidents. When a vulnerability is identified, time matters. Rather than waiting for a monthly report, members can now be alerted immediately, giving them a better opportunity to address potential weaknesses before they are exploited.
“We know that managing cyber security can be challenging, particularly for smaller organisations with limited IT resources. PCA Alerts will help make that responsibility more manageable by giving members the information and guidance they need to act with confidence and make informed decisions. Where we can see members are struggling to remediate vulnerabilities, we can provide members with the support of the Police Protect network, who engage at a local level.”
A monthly summary for senior leaders
The old monthly vulnerability reports have been replaced by a new monthly executive summary, giving senior leaders a non-technical overview of their cyber security position and highlighting areas that may need attention. Further improvements are planned, including alerts from Police CyberAlarm’s Secure Sensor, which uses firewall log data to spot suspicious and potentially malicious activity targeting an organisation’s network.
Helping police tackle cybercrime
Beyond protecting individual organisations, the service gives police a clearer picture of the cyber threat landscape across the UK. The intelligence it gathers helps identify malicious infrastructure, spot emerging patterns and detect suspicious activity, supporting criminal investigations and helping to disrupt cybercrime.
Police CyberAlarm is free for organisations across the UK. To find out more or register, visit cyberalarm.police.uk.
About Police CyberAlarm
Funded by the Home Office and delivered by the National Cybercrime Team, Police CyberAlarm helps businesses, charities, schools and other organisations across the UK understand and protect themselves against cyber threats. Through vulnerability scanning and its Secure Sensor, it gives insight into security weaknesses and suspicious activity targeting organisations from the internet.
