On Thursday, 5th August I visited the National Crime Agency (NCA) in my capacity as HM Attorney General.
During this visit, I was very interested to learn about several different streams of work in this important crime-fighting agency. I heard about their excellent work in the national cybercrime unit as well as their activities to combat child sexual exploitation.
The NCA leads the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime, pursuing criminals who pose a great risk, in order to ensure the public is kept safe. They work at the forefront of law enforcement, collecting intelligence in order to build a picture of where and when serious crime threats come from, alongside delivering specialist capabilities on behalf of law enforcement and other entities.
In recent years there has been a significant increase in cyber criminality, particularly in the form of high-profile ransomware campaigns. These include breaches which leaked personal data on a massive scale, leaving victims vulnerable to fraud as well as ransomware campaigns which have targeted international organisations.
With new threats to our country having appeared in the form of cyber-crime, it was very reassuring to see first-hand that the work of the NCA is both extremely advanced and effective and I look forward to continuing working with them on these important matters.
If you wish to learn more about the NCA and their work you can visit their website at https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/.