Free Cyber Protect Services Across the South East
Our Cyber Protect services are delivered free of charge through the Home Office-funded Police Cyber Crime Programme to individuals, community groups and organisations located within our region: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire (Thames Valley Police); Hampshire & the Isle of Wight; Surrey; East Sussex and West Sussex (Sussex Police).
If you are located outside our region, we may still be able to help in limited circumstances, such as for national organisations headquartered within our area, or we can refer you to your local team. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Choose the option that best describes you:
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Individuals
Personal cyber safety tools, free webinars and community-based training.
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Organisations
Leadership Training, Staff Training and Cybersecurity Exercising.
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Schools
Leadership exercises, staff training & pupil lessons.
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Business Network Partners
Organisations who can host our workshops by providing a venue and an audience of local businesses.
Services for Individuals
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Police CyberCheck
Simple, personalised step-by-step guidance to better cybersecurity – no signup or installation required.
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Cyber Webinars
Live sessions by our cyber experts allowing you to learn and ask questions. Choose from personal cybersecurity, parents/carers sessions and others!
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Community Presentations
We deliver free in‑person or virtual cyber safety sessions for community groups. You provide the venue and audience, we teach.
Services for Organisations
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Leadership Cyber Training
Includes our hands‑on Lego exercise + executive briefing on cyber governance.
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Staff Cyber Awareness
Clear, engaging staff sessions covering phishing, MFA, secure behaviours and more.
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Cybersecurity Exercising
In‑person exercises to test your cyber incident response readiness. Requires an existing CIRP / BC/DR plan and clear testing objectives.
Business Network Partners
We work with organisations – such as Chambers of Commerce, Banks and other Business Communities – who can host our cybersecurity & resilience workshops by providing a venue and an audience of local businesses. We deliver the session; you provide the room and audience.
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Sole Traders Workshop
Help sole traders protect their email, social media and online accounts using trusted national cyber tools – with practical, follow‑along guidance.
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Small Business Workshop
A practical scenario‑based session where businesses identify their biggest risks and strengthen their defences using national cyber tools.
Bookings & Contact
Use our single mailbox for all Cyber Protect service requests across the South‑East:
Intelligence Notifications & Verifying Police Contact
Our Cyber Protect Unit sometimes contacts organisations when they have been identified as having a significant cybersecurity risk, a known vulnerability, or evidence of a potential compromise. These notifications may be based on our own intelligence work or information shared by national partners such as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) or the National Crime Agency (NCA).
What genuine Police Cyber Protect Officers will never do
During an intelligence notification, police will only provide information. We will never:
- Ask for passwords, MFA codes or other authentication details
- Ask for remote access to your systems
- Request technical configuration information
- Send unexpected attachments
- Direct you to unfamiliar or suspicious websites
- Ask you to install software or tools
The only time police will request detailed technical or personal information is during a formal cybercrime investigation after you have made a report via Report Fraud. In those cases, investigating officers will explain how to verify their identity.
How to verify the officer contacting you
We understand that receiving unsolicited contact about cybersecurity risks can be concerning. We encourage you to verify any police contact using the following procedure:
Call 101 → ask for Thames Valley Police → request to be connected to the officer who contacted you.
The automated system will try to connect you with the officer in question. If they are unavailable at that time, you may also ask the call handler to verify an Officer or Staff Member’s identity and contact information.
Thames Valley Police (TVP) is the host force for the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU). Even if your organisation is outside the South‑East, TVP is the correct force to verify SEROCU officers.
For confidentiality reasons, call handlers will not know operational details or which organisations are being contacted. Simply explain that you wish to verify contact from the Cyber Protect Unit about a cyber risk.
Criminal impersonation
Criminals frequently impersonate law enforcement, government agencies and reputable organisations. You should always treat unsolicited contact with caution.
Genuine officers will never pressure you, demand immediate action, or require you to rely solely on information we provide. Where possible, we will signpost independent ways to confirm the issue, such as official vendor advisories or NCSC guidance.
If you prefer not to click links in our communications, you can use a search engine to look up the information we describe.