CCC has ongoing funding from the Department for Education to enable families, who receive free school meals due to the benefits they receive, to book free places at a local holiday scheme this Christmas. An eligible child will be entitled to up to 16 hours for free at a participating holiday scheme. A nutritious meal is also provided as part of the programme and children and young people will have much needed social contact and opportunities to engage in physical activity. Parents can book places directly with participating holiday schemes, more information can be found at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/haf

Whether it’s your Facebook, Amazon, or Netflix account, the explosion in popularity of online apps and services means more and more of us have to remember an increasingly long list of passwords. Unfortunately, some of us cope with this challenge by resorting to practices that leave our data, devices and money at risk – by using the same password across multiple accounts, or by creating simple passwords that could easily be guessed by hackers. Bad password practice is more prevalent than you might think – the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre carried out analysis of passwords leaked in data breaches and found that more than 23 million users worldwide used 123456 as a password. You can read more about it here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/most-hacked-passwords-revealed-as-uk-cyber-survey-exposes-gaps-in-online-security Here are some top tips that will make your life easier and your online accounts more secure: 1: Creating memorable passwords A good way to create strong, memorable passwords is by using 3 random words. But remember, don’t use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example, “RedPantsTree4!” 2: Saving passwords in your browser Saving your password in your browser means letting your web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Edge) remember your password for you. This can help: make sure you do not lose or forget your passwords protect you against some cyber crime, such as fake websites It is safer than using weak passwords, or using the same password in more than one place. Here are some useful links on how you can start saving passwords in your browser: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Safari. 3: Email account passwords If a hacker gets into your email account, they could: reset your other online account passwords access personal information you have saved about yourself or your business Your email password should be strong and different to all your other passwords. This will make it harder to crack or guess. Need help changing your email account password? You can use these links to find step by step instructions: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, BT, AOL Mail. For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware Thanks for reading! If you found this information useful, please help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends.

The Library Presents

Cambridgeshire residents are invited to help select The Library Presents’ Spring 2022 Season of arts events.

Selection is open until Midnight on 26 November 2021

Visit https://www.library.live/the-library-presents-blog/choosing-the-library-presents-events-for-spring-2022-in-your-nearest-libraries

Or pop in to one of the participating libraries: Arbury Court, Barnwell Road, Cambourne, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge Central, Clay Farm, Histon, Northstowe, Papworth, Sawston, Ramsey, St Neots, St Ives, March, Chatteris, Wisbech, Whittlesey, Ely, Littleport and Soham.

The Autumn Season of events is also live right now, all information is online at www.library.live/the-library-presents

Fraud and cybercrime are the most common criminal offences in the UK. Analysis of Action Fraud reports showed that 86% of frauds had a cyber element to them. As the threat from cyber crime continues to grow and evolve, it is important to remember one thing – most of it can be prevented. By following just a few practical steps you can make it harder for cyber criminal to get into your devices and online accounts.

In order to better understand what steps you are already taking to secure online, we would be grateful if you would please complete the short survey we have created. Your answers will help us to determine what areas of online security we need focus on over the coming months.

Please note:

• the survey is completely anonymous and we don’t ask you for any personal information
• Survey answers will not be shared with any third parties

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/cybercrimesurvey2021/

Thank you for helping us improve our response to fraud and cyber crime in the UK

Kind regards

Action Fraud Team

News story

Extra COVID-19 support deployed to parts of the East of England

Additional support will be deployed to 3 local authorities in the East of England in response to high rates of COVID-19 cases in the region.From:UK Health Security AgencyPublished31 October 2021Last updated31 October 2021 — See all updates

Following the latest review of coronavirus (COVID-19) data, additional support will be deployed from 1 November to Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, and Suffolk, in response to high rates of COVID-19 cases in the area.

The decision has been made in partnership with local authorities and is based on the latest data and local insights. Targeted additional support will be provided.

The package includes options for:

• targeted support to maximise vaccine and testing uptake
• extra testing in these targeted areas
• further help for local public health campaigns
• temporary extra measures in education settings

This additional support will be in place for 5 weeks from 1 November to allow for targeted local action. Pupils will return to school next week as planned.

Local residents are urged to remain cautious and follow the national guidance, including to get vaccinated, wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport, meet outdoors where possible, let fresh air into homes or other enclosed spaces.

Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Jenny Harries said:

Although we have returned to a more familiar way of life, it’s important we all continue to play our part in controlling the spread of the virus, especially as we move into winter.

Everybody, especially in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Suffolk, can take simple steps to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, wearing face coverings in crowded places, letting in fresh air when mixing indoors and washing their hands regularly.

Getting vaccinated is the best way we can protect ourselves from becoming unwell with COVID-19. I encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward for their jab as soon as possible – whether that’s a first, second or booster dose.

UKHSA data shows that the vaccination programme has substantially weakened the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths. Vaccinated people are far less likely to get COVID-19 with symptoms and even more unlikely to get serious COVID-19, to be admitted to hospital, or to die from the virus