51Âþ»­

From the outside it looks like a plain white box – but, if you venture inside, this cube contains the latest equipment to help Government organisations gather vital evidence in their fight against cybercrime.

The cube unloaded from a truck in Deacon Street Car Park

The cube, known as the Mobile Security Operation Centre (SOC), was unloaded into the 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) car park, on Deacon Street, by mh SERVICE of Germany, on Monday.

Students and staff were then talked through the SOC’s uses and given the opportunity to see tens of thousands of pounds-worth of equipment in action.

The 'SOC in a box' was brought to 51Âþ»­ to mark the start of #51Âþ»­CyberWeek which offers activities to show how the university is taking the lead in teaching the next generation of cyber investigators.

RELATED NEWS

Industry experts scout Cyber Security student for grad role

The mobile centre can be taken to any location in the country where there has been a major cybersecurity breach and be used to analyse computers, smart phones and any other electronic equipment that may have been used for illegal activity.

It can download data found on site and the information that has been gathered can be admitted as evidence for any future court cases. Without the cube on site, police and other agencies  may have to submit evidence to specialist laboratories and valuable days could be lost during their investigation.

Professor Helge Janicke, Head of 51Âþ»­’s Cyber Technology Institute, said: “Our students had the opportunity to not only see the latest professional equipment in use but experience how it works first-hand.”

Jamie Clark, of mh SERVICE, said: “These students will be the forensic investigators of the future. It is important to show people what is possible in cyber security today. It is the biggest new form of policing that is happening in the world.”

During the day students also took part in a workshop where they were set the task of stopping industry experts hacking into a virtual network.

Professor Janicke added: “It meant students were working with industry experts, asking questions of them and getting real hands on experience.”

Today (TUES) there will be a full day of workshops and presentations providing industry insights into cyber security and digital forensics from members of the Airbus UK team, which has a close-working partnership with 51Âþ»­’s Cyber Technology Institute.