Following a number of high-profile attacks, social housing landlords are being offered free access to cyber-security services through a government agency.
Providers can sign up for the tools from the Active Cyber Defence programme by means of the website of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) .
The NCSC’s role is to provide guidance and respond to cyber-security incidents to reduce the harm they cause to organisations and the economy.
The tools include Web Check and Mail Check, which help defend against common cyber-security threats, and PDNS – on a pilot basis – which helps block users from reaching malicious websites.
Those eligible for the free access also include local authority landlords and arm’s-length management companies (ALMOs).
The particular announcement follows a number of high-profile incidents in the social housing sector.
Sarah Lyons, NCSC’s deputy director for economic climate and society resilience, said: “We strongly encourage organizations to sign up for the tools to help protect the particular vital work they do and reduce the risk associated with falling victim to the majority of common cyberattacks. ”
The move is getting supported by Housemark, the particular data firm jointly owned by the National Casing Federation plus Chartered Institute of Housing.
Arturo Dell, associate movie director at Housemark, said: “This is a hugely important and very welcome step by the NCSC. Members of the particular Housemark Information Security Forum have been working very closely with the NCSC to support this move plus we are delighted that every UK interpersonal housing provider will now be able to benefit from these free cyber-security services as a result. ”