The cyber division of the Metropolitan Police, the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) in the UK, will expand its operations and size in anticipations of additional funding over the next four years.
The anti-cyber crime unit is slated to double its size to about 90, revealed the PCeU head of economic and cyber crime Charlie McMurdie at the "Working Together to Improve UK Cyber Security" conference.
The coalition government has given top priority to cyber threats. In its national security strategy: "A Strong Britain in an Age of Uncertainty" unveiled on 18 October 2010, the government said that cyber crime is one of the biggest emerging threats to the UK.
Subsequently, the government announced the National Cyber Security Programme as a part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review and allotted £650m of new investment over the next four years to the programme. So far, the government has allocated £30m to regional e-crime units as well.
Speaking at the conference, McMurdie said, "We have just received additional funding as a result of our SDSR bid."
"We have 40 staff now, soon to grow to 80 or 90 in the central unit."
Most of the new investment and recruitment is expected to be aimed at the operational side of the unit.
McMurdie also said the funding is "an incremental funding programme over the four years, based on delivery and performance."
"We have to make sure that what we are doing supports and co-ordinates with all the agencies under the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance (OCSIA)," she said.
