In the past several years, numerous new regulations have been placed on the books by provincial and federal agencies pertaining to the handling, storage and disposal of confidential client and employee documents and information. 

     When you take privacy rights seriously in your business, you establish an atmosphere of trust that keeps customers loyal and attracts the best employees.  When you establish a comprehensive privacy policy that customers and employees can understand, you are less likely to become involved in a privacy dispute, which could destroy your company’s reputation.

     The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has a great, easy-to-understand booklet which serves as a first step for businesses that wish to improve their privacy practices and avoid investigations.  The tips in there will also help you build capacity in-house to handle issues and complaints as they arise.  You can get a .pdf of their “Privacy Guide for Small Businesses:  The Basics” here:  http://www.priv.gc.ca/information/pub/guide_sb_e.pdf

     Proper handling of confidential customer and employee information on your computer network can go a long way in making sure you don’t end up fined, sued, or with a bad reputation for not securing client or employee information.  Here are a few tips to keep you safe:

• Get The Facts – If you think you are holding confidential information that should be
  secured, read the above guide or ask a qualified attorney who specializes in data confidentiality in your industry about what you must do to meet government regulations.
• Build Your Own Policy – And keep it simple.  Your policy should be clear, concise and written in plain language to it is easy to understand.  It should provide enough details to help your customers understand how you manage their information, and for your employees to understand how to follow your policy.
• Encrypt Your Backups - Make sure your backups are at least 32-bit encryption. Encryption takes every keystroke you type and transforms it into 32 different characters, making it nearly impossible for hackers to use the information, even if they were able to steal it. Some backup solutions will even provide tighter security with 256-bit encryption.
• Have A Powerful Firewall – Firewalls keep hackers and other intruders from getting into your network and accessing important, confidential and private information. If you have the right firewall in place, it should act like a shield over your data and give you the protection you need to be in compliance with privacy laws.
• Lockdown Your Passwords – One surefire way to prevent any unauthorized access to privacy information and take a step toward regulatory compliance is to make sure only those who need the passwords to your computers have them.