HUMBERSIDE Police are not prepared to respond to the threat of a large-scale cyber incident, according to a new report.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) yesterday released its report into the force following an inspection last year.
Inspectors looked at whether or not Humberside Police were able to respond effectively in the event of terrorism, civil emergencies, organised crime, public order threats and large-scale cyber incidents.
Cyber crime can range from large groups hacking into computer systems to internet bullying on social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The report says: "The force's plans to respond to the threat of a large-scale cyber incident are still under development.
"An assistant chief constable has been nominated as the force lead for its capability to respond to cyber crime.
"At the time of the visit to Humberside Police, a document was being prepared to define the force's response to cyber threats.
"Cyber crime was not highlighted in the force's strategic threat and risk assessment.
"Humberside Police has not assessed the threats or the potential impact of a denial of service attack on its own systems."
The report continued: "South Yorkshire Police takes responsibility for Humberside Police's information security as well as its own and has assessed the vulnerability of the force's information technology in case of failure.
"Humberside Police has not tested whether the force's systems could be compromised through a regime of penetration testing and staff were not able to demonstrate an understanding of the implications of a cyber attack.
"Business continuity plans had been prepared to enable the force to continue functioning in the event of disruptions to services, including the impact upon information technology systems.
"There was not, however, a plan illustrating what should be done in the event of a cyber attack."
All 43 constabularies across England and Wales were given guidelines on how to prepare for cyber attacks two years ago.
In April, HMIC revealed 40 of those were yet to develop sufficient strategies to deal with such events.
With internet use becoming more and more prevalent, so does the threat of cyber crime.
Big businesses and public services, including the police, are all under threat of having security breached because of cyber crime.
Yesterday's report did indicate Humberside Police had the capacity to contribute to the national counter-terrorism effort.
According to inspectors the force would also be able to respond to civil emergencies such as severe weather.
It has "appropriate capacity" to deal with organised crime and has completed a public order strategic threat and risk assessment.
A spokesman for the force said: "Humberside Police, like most police forces, have plans and processes in place to ensure we are not vulnerable to cyber attack, coupled with stringent security processes within the organisation.
"We have resources in place to investigate such attacks, in the form of specially trained investigators and access to supplementary specialist support regionally and nationally.
"Cyber crime awareness training is also being rolled out across the organisation to ensure that all officers and staff are informed about cyber issues and how to respond to any incidents and cyber crimes reported to us by the public."
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