Police have joined forces with a leading Cumbrian business organisation to help firms tackle the threat of cyber crime.

Cumbria Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with Cumbria Constabulary’s new cyber and digital crime unit to set up an online resource with information and advice.

Rob Johnston, the chamber's chief executive, said: “Businesses that adhere to good practice can reduce their chances of falling victim to cyber crime by 80 per cent.

“This is becoming a real issue. The British Chambers of Commerce estimates that one-in-five businesses have been affected by cyber crime in the last 12 months.

"We’ve also seen research that suggests half of all crime is now cyber-related.

“The WannaCry ransomware attack, which hit the NHS and businesses, shows how disruptive cyber crime can be.

“And the penalties totalling £282m imposed on British Airways and Marriott, following data breaches, illustrate there can be serious financial consequences if businesses get this wrong.”

Peter McCall, Cumbria’s crime commissioner, said: “I’m pleased to work alongside the chamber to promote cyber safety to businesses.

“This type of crime doesn’t happen on our streets but behind closed doors. Criminals enter our businesses and homes through our electronic devices.

“It is essential that we have the capability and resource to deal with this growing area of crime and that is why a part of the increased resource in policing, raised through council tax, has been used to fund the new cyber crime unit.”

Businesses can visit the chamber’s website to download tools, watch a staff training video and listen to a podcast with Jon Hill, a detective in the cyber and digital crime unit.

The guidance on the chamber website covers hacking, malware and spyware, ransomware, phishing, impersonation fraud and distributed denial of service attacks.

There is also information on how businesses can safeguard their data when using public wifi networks and how they can report cyber attacks and attempted scams.