West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has urged local companies to audit their cyber security as a wave of cyber thefts hit the online community. Celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence have had their personal photos stolen and published and this week online storage company Dropbox has been hacked leaving many businesses exposed. Harriett urged local people to take action to check that their data is protected and to work with local experts to take appropriate security measures. Earlier this month, Harriett met with tech giant HP to discuss the rollout of a cyber security standard for small business developed in Malvern. She urged companies to take advantage of the host of cyber experts to ensure that Worcestershire companies are protected from attack and theft. Harriett said: “Malvern is renowned for its brilliant brains helping to defend us from cyber-attack. “We have the National Cyber Security Centre based in Malvern and dozens of small operations offering easy and affordable protection and advice. “With a series of high-profile hacks over the past two weeks, the message is clear that anyone is at risk from cyber theft and it important that protection is on the agenda for every business, no matter how small.” Ken Wigfield, regional vice-chairman of the Federation of Small Business, added: “The Federation of Small Business did a recent report into the impact of cyber crime and measures which can be taken to prevent it. “Cyber attacks can seriously harm small companies and I would endorse Harriett’s calls for local companies to investigate any way of mitigating this increasing risk.”