A short review of data security issues surrounding the business use of personal data used in common business practices and communications.

1. Preventing crimes related to
Personal Data
Steve Falk
President, Prime Data

2. Why do I know anything
about personal data
issues?
20 years of building businesses that provide
data-driven marketing services

3. Personal Data
in life and business
● carrying a cell phone, passwords, bank
cards, USB drives, etc
● at work - employee data, mailing lists,
email lists, spreadsheets, cloud-based
apps and software, tablets and wireless
access, mobile device access, paper
docs, passwords

4. What is personal data?
● it can be a spreadsheet with client names
● it could be a printout of that sheet
● it could be copies of invoices or reports
● it does not have to have VISA or SIN
● it could contain list of recent purchases, birth
dates, moved address information
● side note on US personal data - much richer

5. A real life example:
what can happen?
Elections Canada - USB sticks lost
2 jobs lost

6. Small biz concerns
● dentist
● health clinic
● chiropractor
● VISA numbers at auto repair
● email lists to clients
● lists of donors at a charity

7. Everything’s in Beta
● protecting technology security, legal
compliance, workplace issues,
● individual responsibility
● from paper based to cloud-based storage
● understanding security and privacy is a
moving target. Just as you understand it,
new information and threats develop
● even bill C51 for anti-terrorism touches on it

8. The Privacy Commissioner
● PIPEDA (personal information and electronic
documents act)
● An online FREE online Assessment
● #OPC (Tweets from the Commision)
● reporting a breach - Organization
● filing a complaint - an individual

9. Personal Data - leaks, breaches, loss
Sometimes it is malicious and other times its
just carelessness or misunderstanding
● securely shred paper documents (by
photocopier, for instance)
● transport data securely - ftp, DROPBOX,
encrypted
● firewalls at a business help deter breaches

10. Careful with your email - CASL
Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation
$1,000,000 fine to CompuFinder - unsolicited email

11. Takeaways
● understand the potential damage to your
organization if there is a breach
● Train staff and continually reinforce security
practices
● you must report loss of personal data if you
are an organization (Privacy Commissioner)
● Take the FREE Privacy Commissioner
business assessment

12. ● password protect your cell phone
● don’t use one pwd for everything
● don’t save personal information on USB
sticks and transport them unsecurely
● use updated browsers, malware software
and virus protection software
● securely destroy hard drives on computers,
phones (certificates or destruction avail)

13. thank you