New podcast examines challenges of policing the ‘Wild West’ of the internet

Sir Mark, former assistant commissioner for specialist operations at the Metropolitan Police Service and chief constable of Surrey Police, warns that police are now playing “a catch-up game” in patrolling the ‘Wild West’ of the technological ecosystem.

The new podcast has been launched by Edinburgh-based Cyan Forensics, which supplies its technology to police forces across the UK as part of a Home Office contract.

Hosted by Cyan chief executive officer Ian Stevenson and with contributions from special guests, the podcast series will discuss the challenges of making the world a safer place and cover a range of issues in the online safety space – from technology and innovation to policy and digital forensics.

In the first episode, available now, Mr Stevenson talks to Sir Mark, a globally recognised leadership expert in national security, policing, crisis management and transformation, about why the police care what is shared online.

Sir Mark comments on the podcast: “Corners of the technological ecosystem that have been created over the last couple of decades have ended up like a ‘Wild West’, where criminals, terrorists and paedophiles, etc, are able to operate almost unchecked. Now we’re in a catch-up game and that’s the problem.”

Mr Stevenson said: “The new Cyan podcast will explore how we can reduce the impact of harmful content on the internet, through online safety, digital forensics and bringing together technology, innovation and collaboration to make the world a safer place.

“Having someone of Sir Mark’s standing as our first guest is really exciting and I hope people enjoy our conversation, and those that will follow as our podcast series continues throughout the year.”

During the episode, titled, ‘Why do the police care about what is shared online?’, Mr Stevenson and Sir Mark discuss the challenges in patrolling the darker reaches of the internet and how best to protect the most vulnerable, particularly children, from harmful online content.

The first episode can be listened to and downloaded from https://www.buzzsprout.com/1850624/9942334, from the Cyan website or by searching for The Cyan Podcast on Spotify.