The Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales (WCRC) and Welsh Government have teamed up to launch a new, free initiative for the Welsh social care sector that offers organisations the chance to receive cyber security training.

Contributing £51 billion to the UK economy, the social care sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge in cyber-attacks as a high-value target for criminals, with ransomware as its biggest threat.

As an industry, it is still operating on outdated security systems so this coupled with sophisticated hacking techniques has created a perfect storm for cybercriminals seeking to exploit vulnerabilities.

The Cyber Ninjas training scheme - which is being rolled out by the WCRC and delivered by Matobo Learning through its platform- provides funding for 2,500 social care training licenses in cyber security enabling staff in the sector free, direct access to this resource.

The training is based on a programme Matobo Learning created for the BBC and has been awarded National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Assured Training status. It consists of two hours of online lessons which can be tracked and has knowledge checks. The 12 modules can be broken down into individual lessons, covering steps to take while working online to prevent cyber-attacks such as phishing and hacking.

Reg Kilpatrick, Director General, Covid Recovery and Local Government Group, Welsh Government, said: “I am delighted to see this direct and focused support to help improve and strengthen cyber resilience across the care sector in Wales. This comes at a time where we have seen repeatedly the serious damage and disruption cyber attacks can have on organisations and individuals who provide care to the most vulnerable in our society.”

WCRC Director Paul Peters is delighted that the centre is to be a key collaborator in the campaign to raise awareness of the training available to support the Welsh care sector in improving its cyber readiness. “The Cyber Ninjas training programme roll-out is a significant step in the right direction in helping to improve the Welsh care sector’s cyber defences.

“Cyber security is not something that the sector can afford to be complacent about; a full team effort is required to understand the risks and adhere to basic guidance as a minimum. A successful cyber-attack or breach can lead to, amongst other things, operational disaster and severe reputational damage, especially when highly sensitive data concerning loved ones is at stake.

“We look forward to engaging with care sector organisations about their cyber security challenges and offering the free Cyber Ninjas training programme as a springboard to further improve their cyber resilience.”

The funding will have the aim of promoting cyber resilience across Wales. It will directly engage with the social care sector to enrol individuals working within social care to undertake the Cyber Ninjas social care training. It will also assist those that undertake the training to access the learning and increase their personal knowledge and organisational awareness of cyber safety and boost resilience.

Ben Giles, managing director of Matobo Learning, commented: “We’re delighted to roll out Cyber Ninjas to the social care sector in Wales, alongside our existing provision to the whole of NHS Wales and all Welsh-elected members and councillors. Cyber Ninjas is co-designed and peer-approved by a group of public sector cyber experts from all over the UK and made with love by our team of BAFTA-award winning filmmakers. It stands out from other e-learning offerings because it’s actually fun to do and the constant, daily feedback from thousands of learners tells us they love doing the training.”

For more information about enrolling staff onto the free Cyber Ninjas training programme, please visit the WCRC website at ,www.wcrcentre.co.uk.