CYBER crime investigators are calling on businesses to protect their computer systems after taking action against a former employee who deleted company data.

The 26 year old woman from Whitby was cautioned after employers called in Cyber Crime Investigators from North Yorkshire Police. Investigator Andrew Rawlings said they would strongly urge businesses to have cyber policies in place for when workers leave or switch jobs.

He added: "You can take simple steps to protect against security breaches. Unfortunately, when the employee in this case was dismissed the business did not review their permissions and access privileges or implement password changes. It was this which allowed the offender to easily re-gain access to the administration side of the business systems.

"Policies should include reviewing access privileges and suspension of accounts when employees leave the company. We would encourage any business owners who have experienced a similar situation as in this case to report it to us."