PCuE - Police Central e-crime Unit - is a branch of the Metropolitan Police service in the United Kingdom.
It was jointly founded by the UK Home Office, and the Metropolitan Police, and tasked with investigating serious cases of computer crime.
PCeU investigates serious cases of Computer Intrusion, where cybercriminals have gained unauthorized access to computers / servers where they may steal sensitive or private information on an organization, or the public.
It also investigates the distribution of malicious code, targeting peddlers of viruses and other malware that hijack PCs for nefarious purposes. Police forces around the world have been used in recent years in efforts to break up massive botnets, which are collections of infected PCs all controlled from central command servers.
Denial of service attacks are also investigated by PCeU. Denial of service attacks can be aimed at almost anything online. Web servers can be flooded to the point that they become unreachable for legitimate Internet users, or a web service (such as a video on demand or online gaming service) can be forced offline.
PCeU also investigates computer-related fraud. This can include everything from malious fake anti-malware products that extort money from concerned PC users, or e-mail scams that are aimed at duping users into handing over money or sensitive information about bank accounts and so forth.
The PCeU does not investigate cyber crimes related to child abuse however, as they are handled by other areas of law enforcement.
