Cumbria's deputy chief constable Stuart Hyde, has warned people of the need to keep computer security strong after research revealed a culture of hacking among students.

He was speaking after research by the country’s police chiefs claimed nearly one in four college and university students surveyed had hacked into computer systems. The survey was carried out among 1,000 college and university students across five universities in London and three in northern England.

Hacking is where people use other people’s accounts, such as social networking sites like facebook and myspace, email accounts and even online shopping accounts.

Chief constable Hyde highlighted the importance of keeping your passwords strong, secure and changing them regularly to help protect yourself.

Chief constable Hyde is the expert on prevention of e-crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers and president of the Society for the Policing of Cyberspace.