City of London Police has enlisted internet security expert Kaspersky Lab to help train its officers to tackle all levels of cybercrime.
The training programme will provide officers with the skills and knowledge to identify and resolve cyber crimes ranging from an individual victim encountering fraud during an online shopping-spree, to a business losing thousands of pounds from a targeted attack.
City of London police said the scheme will be extended into further services and large enterprises across the UK, "aiming to upskill UK industry on ways to protect themselves against cyber attacks".
Coupled with theoretical knowledge, the week-long training programme allows for real hands-on experience, teaching vital skills such as inspecting network traffic, analysing hard-drive images and decompiling malicious software, using specialised training tools and methodology developed by Kaspersky Lab.
The training will also address the need for businesses to improve fraud reporting, to ensure police services and security agencies have a clear view of the issue.
The first of the programmes has already been attended by officers in the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. While the course places emphasis on threats that are aimed at financial organisations and government bodies, which are the top targets for online fraud in the UK, the skills learnt by attendees will also be applicable when combatting the cyber threats the general public face.
The City of London Police runs the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). The NFIB is the central repository for fraud and cyber crime intelligence, analysing millions of reports to identify serial fraudsters, organised crime gangs and emerging and established crime threats.
"As the complexity of cybercrime constantly increases it's imperative that the service's knowledge of such threats increases at the same pace," said David Clark, Det Chief Supt in the Economic Crime Directorate of the City of London Police. "With over 21,000 computer misuse crimes in the UK in the first quarter of 2014, it's clear that people and businesses are at risk and need protecting."