Sent:  Thursday, January 27, 2010 at 2:14 PM
Subject:  WDNet Update  

Data Privacy Day 2010, January 28th

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Data Privacy Day 2010
Protecting your personal information means knowing what’s worth protecting, and how to protect it.  Canada’s privacy and access laws give Canadians many rights and responsibilities about their personal information and the information held by governments.  But there are also many ways you can help protect your own personal information by simply being informed.

Protect Your Identity
WD encourages all staff to aggressively guard their personal information.  If your birth certificate, SIN, driver’s license, passport, government ID, credit cards, tax information and returns, bank and utility account information is stolen, there can be a whole new you walking about, posing as you and sending your personal affairs into a tailspin.

Passwords Are Like Underwear
Passwords are the keys you use to protect access to personal information stored on your computer and online accounts.  A strong password should be a minimum of 8 characters and include upper and lowercase letters and numbers, and different types of symbols.

For more information about these four subjects, check out the posters around your office or the Privacy Act site on WDNet:  wdnet/fcm/Admin/ATIP/Privacy_e

Protect Your Identity poster for Data Privacy Day, January 28, 2010

1. Aggressively guard your personal information – birth certificate, SIN, driver’s license, passport, government ID, credit cards, tax information and returns, bank and utility account information.
2. Promptly cancel bank or credit cards that you don’t use.
3. Create strong passwords and use on utility, telephone, credit and other accounts.
4. Carry with you only the ID and credit cards you need.  Lock the rest away safely.
5. Personal or account information shouldn’t be stored on your computer.
6. Never provide your SIN or credit card numbers over the telephone or by e-mail.
7. Don’t reply to or confirm personal information requests from e-mail offers, unsolicited job offers or other inquiries.  Delete.  Banks do not ask for this information online.
8. Before making online purchases, verify the website and ensure they use secure payment options.  Cyber-thieves can divert buyers to fake websites or use fake security certificates.
9. Don’t provide personal information to telemarketers, on websites or to claim a prize in a contest you entered.
10. Destroy automated bank machine receipts, bank statements, cancelled cheques, old credit cards or credit card offers, old photos, and addresses off of magazines, envelopes and other packaging with a cross-cut paper shredder.
11. Personal cheques should not include telephone numbers, and refuse to provide if asked by a store clerk.
12. Maintain detailed financial records and cross reference purchases on your credit card statements so you can dispute payments or charges you didn’t authorize.
13. Check your credit rating at least annually, and promptly look into any irregularities.

Protecting your information means knowing what's worth protecting, and how to protect it.  Canada's privacy and access laws give Canadians many rights and responsibilities about their personal information and the information held by governments and private sector organizations.

Protect Your Identity poster for Data Privacy Day, January 28, 2010.

Passwords are like underwear…Change yours often!
Passwords are like underwear…Don’t share them with friends! 
Passwords are like underwear…The longer, the better.
Passwords are like underwear…Be mysterious!
Passwords are like underwear…Don’t leave yours lying around!

Passwords are the keys you use to protect access to personal information stored on your computer and online accounts.  If your personal information is stolen, the thief can use your name to open new credit cards accounts, apply for a mortgage, or pose as you in online transactions.  You probably won’t even notice these attacks until it’s too late!  Luckily, it is not difficult to create strong passwords and keep them well protected!

Keys to a strong, memorable password:

1. Length:  The length of a password should be 8-14 characters – each character adds to the protection it provides.
2. Think of a sentence you can remember.  Use words and phrases that are easy to remember, but difficult for others to guess.  This will be the basis for your strong password.  For example, use a memorable sentence.  (My son Adam is three years old.)
3. Add complexity by mixing upper and lowercase letters and numbers.  Consider misspelling intentionally and substitute numbers for words.  (msAdm3yo!)
4. Substitute some characters for symbols that look the letters, combine words and other ways to make the password more complex.  The more variety in your password, the harder it is to guess.  (m$AdM3y0!)
5. The ideal password includes both length and different types of symbols.
6. Keep your passwords secret.  Treat your passwords with care.  Don’t share them with others – even other family members.  If you write them down, be sure they are adequately protected in order to remain secure and effective.  Never provide your password over e-mail or based on an e-mail request, or type on a computer you don’t control.  And, change your passwords regularly.

Protecting your information means knowing what's worth protecting, and how to protect it.  Canada's privacy and access laws give Canadians many rights and responsibilities about their personal information and the information held by governments and private sector organizations.