A NEW facility could help hundreds of companies fight back against digital fraud.

The new Digital Forensics Lab, at Gateshead College, aims to train firms’ IT staff with skills needed to track criminal activity and implement preventative measures.

The £75,000 lab is the first of its kind in the region and was designed with the help of Northumbria Police, who will use it for training, and the North-East Fraud Forum, which works with organisations to raise awareness of the latest techniques for fighting fraud.

Technology such as computers and mobile phones leave a digital trail every time they are used, that a skilled investigator can unpick to compile evidence of fraudulent activity.

The lab will teach companies how to hunt for these trails and compile evidence of criminal activity, even if the data has been deleted.

This will enable them to improve their security systems, reduce the impact of fraudulent activity and improve productivity, leading to all round savings in time and costs.

Detective Sergeant Alan Batey, head of Northumbria Police’s computer crime unit, said that the number of investigations carried out by local police over the past ten years had increased fourfold.

He said: “We are seeing year-onyear growth in the number of people using computers, the internet and mobile phones to co-ordinate and undertake criminal activities.

“The new Digital Forensics Lab will be a great resource to help companies uncover fraudulent activity, helping them to better protect their business, market share and ultimately profits.”

Gateshead College’s assistant principal adult and higher education Mary Lindsay said: “We are delighted to launch this new facility, the latest initiative aimed at helping business retrain and up-skill existing workforces.

“Our digital forensics courses will provide people with the skills and confidence to tackle a costly and highly damaging problem that could be affecting hundreds of local businesses.”

Fraudulent activities including those committed by dishonest employees using computers, mobile phones and the internet – known as cybercrime – could be costing regional business hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in lost revenue.

The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that fraudulent internet transactions, unscrupulous emails known as phishing and security problems caused by viruses and hackers costs an average small business £800 a year.

Some businesses can be hit with problems that are so severe losses can run into several thousands of pounds a year.

Computers are also used to commit financial frauds such as money laundering or false accounting and the unauthorised access to restricted websites held on databases.

Other organisations expected to be able to benefit from the facility include security firms, schools and local authorities.

Investment funding has been provided by regional development agency One North East.