The Leisure and Travel industry might not immediately appear to be a prime target for cybercriminals.

However, given the indiscriminate tactics often employed by cybercriminals, it's not surprising that this sector can find itself vulnerable to this emerging form of crime.

Hotels and airlines rely on intricate networks to manage reservations, payments, entertainment, and security systems. Yet, should a cybercriminal breach a company's defences by hacking into an employee's or customer's account, the repercussions could be massive. The entire operation could grind to a halt until a ransom is paid to restore the system causing days of revenue loss for larger establishments. For smaller businesses however, the inability to meet the ransom demand might spell the end.

The sector also possesses a highly coveted resource for cybercriminals – personal identifiable information like names, addresses, and payment details. This data holds immense value on the black market, making it a lucrative target. Which is why it is important to maintain good cyber hygiene and utilise free cyber resilience tools.

How can the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre help?

The Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre (ECRC) is a policing-led, not for profit, membership organisation that is a part of a national network of centres, established to help small and medium organisations tackle the rising threat of cyber-attacks.

We offer a FREE core membership that provides practical advice on building your cyber resilience, including:

• Free Little Steps training programme: A series of weekly emails, looking at bite-sized practical information to help businesses understand and build cyber resilience
• Regional and national threat alerts
• Signposting to free tools and resources from both policing and the NCSC
• Discussion area to meet and discuss other companies in the region and our partners

Sign up for our free core membership at www.ecrcentre.co.uk

As one of our growing numbers of free core members, you will receive regular updates which include the latest guidance, news, and security updates. Our core membership has been tailored for businesses, charities and schools of all sizes who are based across the seven counties in the East of England.

Through our core membership, you also gain access to our integrated range of Cyber Resilience Services. These services are designed help businesses assess, build, and manage online networks as well as assisting businesses and their staff to have the right strategies to respond to incidents efficiently and so migrate any potential damage a cyber-attack may create.

We have a flexible paid-for range of Business Support Package options to suit the level of support required for your business. Our policing-led team can help you identify what’s most relevant to you.

Contact us to find out more.

Reporting a live cyber-attack 24/7

If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber-attack (in progress), please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 immediately. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Reporting a cyber-attack which isn't ongoing.

Please report online to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. You can report cybercrime online at any time using the online reporting tool, which will guide you through simple questions to identify what has happened. Action Fraud advisors can also provide the help, support, and advice you need.