Council trained to protect against ID theft

Jenny Robins (03 June 2008  16:46)

Source: Public Technology.Net

People across the Midlands are being protected from identity theft thanks to a package developed by training and communications specialist, Walkgrove.

Walkgrove has given Nottinghamshire County Council free access to its Identity Theft e-learning programme, which enables staff to understand the many ways information can be stolen and how to prevent them.

The interactive course, which will now be made available to some 10,000 council employees via the internet and on CD-ROM, aims to help them protect the information they handle relating to nearly 800,000 householders.

Divided into easy-to-follow modules, the programme is part of Walkgrove's 'Ready to Go' range of ready-made courses designed for businesses and organisations.

Robin Smith, Corporate Information Manager for Nottinghamshire County Council said: "Walkgrove's course is very informative about the different ways ID theft can occur, whether it's unshredded documents taken from bins or through computer-based crime such as 'phishing' and 'pharming'.

"It also explains how these can be avoided and provides checklists for people to familiarise themselves with the information and put it into action.

"This sort of information is useful for everyone at the council to be aware of, particularly those handling sensitive information about people in the community.

"Because it's a self-training package, it's the sort of course our staff could do on a Friday afternoon or during their lunch hour, and given the cost to the county if data was stolen, it's a very worthwhile investment of their time."

The donation of the course follows Nottinghamshire County Council's investment in 100 MP3 players earlier this year, which use materials produced by Walkgrove to train staff.

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