The City of Union is initiating what will be an “ongoing effort” to protects its utility customers from identity theft.

Union City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the implementation of the “City of Union Identity Theft Prevention Program.” The program, which must be in place by Nov. 1, is required under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003. The federal law requires businesses - including utilities - to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft.

Finance director Walker Gallman said that while the city has always sought to protect utility confidential information, its identity theft prevention program will add new layers of security. Gallman said that when a person signs up for utilities, a copy is made of their Social Security card and driver's license. These are placed on file and the Social Security number is entered in the utility department's database. He said that under its identity theft prevention program the city will not only protect the hard copies but also the data files stored on computer.

The program will also include a system to notify the public if a security breach occurs. It will also be regularly updated to keep pace with the latest developments and technology.

“We've going to make sure that our software is password protected and encrypted and prevent it from being accessed via the Internet by unauthorized parties,” he said. “We're also going to be sending out letters to our third-party providers to make sure that they are providing that protection also. We will also put in place a system notifying the public if a breach has taken place.

“This will be an ongoing effort, an ongoing challenge to keep this information safe,” he said. “As the crooks get smarter we'll have to get smarter too.”