Met police denies 'geek squad' decision

Despite being widely reported in the media, the Met police has not decided to employ 12 students to fight cyber crime

Despite being reported in the Evening Standard, and widely repeated elsewhere, the Metropolitan police has not decided to employ 12 PhD students to help fight cyber crime.

The Standard stated that the students would be employed on year-long contracts at the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU), the UK's national resource for tackling electronic crime.

However, a spokeperson for the unit said: "Employing academic students as a way of enabling the unit to expand on its current operational activity is an option currently under consideration, however no definitive decision has been made at this time."

Meanwhile, the Cyber Security Challenge, a competition to find the next generation of cyber security professionals, is about to enter its second round.

On 14 January, the four best teams from round one will compete in technology and security firm QinetiQ's Portal facility where they will face simulated cyber attacks.

The prizes include part-funded Masters courses, fully funded courses from IT security training organisation SANS, and an internship at a leading UK cyber security firm.