AsGet Safe Online
Weekdraws to a close today (21 November), the
Trades Union Congress is launching atoolkit
to help improve workers' internet security awareness and
skills.
The TUC is concerned that although employers are improving their
internet security systems, their good work could be undermined if
they fail to ensure that their employees' skills are
up-to-date.
The
2008 Get
Safe Online Report, published earlier this week, revealed that
66% of internet users use the same password for multiple
websites.
It also revealed that 23% had posted confidential or personal
information online, and that 17% had opened email attachments from
an unknown source, potentially putting themselves at risk from
viruses or other malicious software.
This could have a huge impact on employers, who could be at risk
of losing valuable commercial or customer data, or losing money
through damage or downtime due to attacks.
In response, the TUC has teamed up with GetSafeOnline.org and
the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to produce
http://www.worksmart.org.uk/nsfw/ Not Safe For Work?, a free online
toolkit for staff.
The toolkit brings together video interviews from industry
experts, quizzes and reading lists, and offers a "personalised
prescription on internet security issues that is tailored to an
individual's internet usage".
The toolkit covers malicious software, identity theft, workers'
web rights at work, and privacy online.
As well as being used by UK workers directly, it is hoped that
employers will make time available for their staff to use the
toolkit.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, "The benefits that
the internet brings to UK business are growing every day. Social
media and networking are increasingly important to people's
professional and personal lives.
"But employers must make sure that staff are aware of the
dangers associated with working online. Without training, staff may
well find themselves
the weakest link in the security chain, without ever knowing
what they are doing wrong."