The North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) is here to grow and strengthen the business communities' resilience to online crime. In this blog, we outline, what we do and how we work with businesses in the North West.

The North West Cyber Resilience Centre was launched in November 2019 and was founded to help the region combat cybercrime - and we're already helping hundreds of businesses.

But who are we, and why do we exist? Who do we help and how? This blog tells you everything you need to know...

What is the North West Cyber Resilience Centre?

The NWCRC was established in 2019 as the first centre in the country and a pathfinder to the Home Office. The Cyber Resilience Centre is a trusted, not-for-profit venture between the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and ,Manchester Digital.

The North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) recently ,welcomed two senior police officers from the Regional Organised Crime Unit as company directors. Assistant Chief Constable Jo Edwards and Det Supt Paul Denn, head of operations at the NWROCU, will help further align the specialist knowledge, skills and capabilities of the Regional Organised Cyber Crime Unit, and regional Cyber Protect Officers to our mission of helping to protect businesses from cybercrime.

Our ambition is that every business within our region will have the skills and knowledge to protect themselves from online attacks to make the area one of the safest places to live, work and do business.

We achieve this by providing education, testing and training which is delivered by our team of trusted professionals, seconded police officers and Ethical Hacking students studying cybersecurity at local universities.

We are proud to form part of a ,national network of regional Cyber Resilience Centres featured in the HM Government National Cyber Strategy 2022.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Maddocks of the North West Regional Crime Unit lead the centre. Meet him and ,the rest of the team here.

Why does the Cyber Resilience Centre exist?

Cybercrime is a growing problem. In 2021, the Cyber Breaches Survey showed that cybercrime is estimated to cost the Greater Manchester economy £860 million per year. In addition, 31% of businesses identifying breaches or attacks experienced them at least once a week.

Cyber attacks are potentially catastrophic events for business owners, with financial and financial impacts on a business's business. For example, the average cost of a cybersecurity breach in the United Kingdom is £4,200 across all industries. However, this figure reaches £19,400 for medium and large businesses.

Here at the Cyber Resilience Centre, we provide ,guidance and toolkits that help businesses improve their cyber resilience and mitigate the threat posed by cybercriminals.

How do we help businesses?

The first step to cyber resilience is knowledge. That’s why we share guidance and newsletters that keep you updated on the latest cyber news, security updates, guidance and events in the North West.

We provide a range of services delivered by top talent from local universities, including ,security awareness training. In addition, we work alongside a network of Trusted Partners who are official providers of Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Certification – these certifications guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate your commitment to cybersecurity.

We have also produced a range of guidance for a select number of sectors that we find have been most at risk;

• Education Sector
• Charities
• Construction
• Accounting Sector
• Retail and eCommerce
• Remote Working (freelancers & more)

What Cyber Security services do we provide?

We provide affordable cyber resilience services with the latest knowledge and technical expertise. Our services help SMEs, and, their ,supply chains prepare and improve cyber resilience.

From security awareness training to digital footprint investigations and vulnerability assessments, our services will help increase your cyber resilience.

Learn about our ,services here.

What are the other membership options?

We can offer businesses FREE membership in addition to our paid membership opportunities. Companies can choose from four membership options:

• Free Membership
• Business Starter (£500)
• Business Enhanced (£1,000)
• Business Premium (£1,500)

Learn about these ,membership options here.

What support can the centre offer businesses in Greater Manchester?

In July 2021, the centre announced a new fully-funded ,Business Resilience Program. The program aims to support 300 businesses in Greater Manchester at a critical time when many have moved online during the pandemic.

Any business based within Greater Manchester can apply. You do not have to be an online company to access the support. Many businesses want to protect their staff, company and customers' data. At a time when many businesses have moved online during the pandemic, we must be aware of the threats from online crime.

This program includes three key benefits:

1. Business Starter Membership - This 12-month membership (usually £500) includes Security Awareness Training (for two staff members).
2. Cyber Security Policy & Procedure Templates - This documentation ensures your business has the most recent cybersecurity policies and procedures.
3. 1-2-1 Security Consultation - This consultation (up to 1 hour) allows us to work with you to review what current security measures you have in place and answer any questions you have about cyber security.

Would my business pass a Cyber Health Check?

Only 17% of businesses train their staff in cyber security, but the average cost to businesses in lost data and assets is £4,200. So we have designed our Cyber Health Check in collaboration with Police and ISO accredited Risk Managers (aligned to the UK Government's Cyber Essentials certification scheme and ISO 27001) to provide businesses with a summary of their Cyber Risks and an action plan to help protect them against the latest cyber threats.

Learn more about the ,Cyber Health Check here.

Who are our Trusted Partners?

Our Trusted Partners are official Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Certification providers. ​​

Cyber Essentials helps you guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate your commitment to cybersecurity, which can often become a requirement when tendering for work in the public and private sectors.

Cyber Essentials is a simple but effective, Government-backed scheme that will help you to protect your organisation, whatever its size, against the most common cyber attacks.

Meet our ,Trusted Partners here.

Who else do we work with?

We partner with the region's Police Cyber Protect Network, which works proactively and reactively on significant cybercrime investigations.

In 2021 we announced our strategic partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (,GMCC), the largest accredited Chamber of Commerce in the UK. We have also worked with several organisations to deliver webinars and support their members with guidance and cyber security support over the last three years, including ICAEW, Lanpac, Barclays Bank, Lloyds Bank, the FSB, Liverpool BIPC & many more!

By working alongside the ,National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), we can keep our members updated with the latest cyber threats and guidance.

What is the North West Cyber Student Chapter?

In October 2020, we launched the ,North West Cyber Student Chapter. This community has been created to offer students studying cybersecurity in the North West a chance to meet their peers from other universities and hear from senior experts in the industry.

We are proud to support students from across the North West through close collaboration with local universities; The University of Manchester, the University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University.

If you're a student interested to learn more, you can signup for the ,NW Cyber Student Chapter here.