Is email your favourite style of business communication? 
For many people, it is. Email can be time and energy efficient, immediate, and an easy way to share information and documents. And in many respects, email is more secure than other forms of communication.
#15DayPrivacyChallenge, #CyberAware, 15 Day Privacy Challenge, CASL, email, fax, Practical Privacy Coach, privacyOctober is Cyber Security Awareness Month! Information Managers is celebrating by hosting our annual 15 Day Privacy Challenge. The 15 Day Privacy Challenge is a fun, no cost educational opportunity on privacy and security.
If you decide to use social media in your business, you need clear rules about who will authorize messages. You also need a strong social media policy to provide direction and education to your employees about what they can – and can't – say on-line.
Employees also need to understand that if they participate in social media, their personal comments are still potentially a reflection of the business they represent. See “Securing the Human” for more information for employees.
Even if you decide not to use social media in your business, you still need to be aware of cyber threats such as hackers, viruses, malware or a cybersecurity breach, and implement a formal cybersecurity plan and social media policy for employees.
Review your organization’s policy and procedure about Social Media. See SANS and our articles “What Should You Include in Your Social Media Policy?” and “The Honest Spin Doctor” for sample policies.
We are proud to be a Champion of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
#CyberAware #15DayPrivacyChallenge.
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How safe is your personal information?
Every day, your personal information may be at risk of being lost, used in error, or used for a purpose you did not approve. It's a scary 
thought.
80% of all privacy breaches are internal to the organization. It is the healthcare provider and employer’s responsibility to ensure that everyone in the organization knows the best practices to handle personal information. Healthcare providers must provide privacy and security awareness training to each employee and contracted vendors in a healthcare practice. This includes healthcare providers and professional staff as well as volunteers.
Employers and healthcare providers must be able to document that training is provided to the employee and that the employee understood the key concepts of the content provided in the training.
A formal employee orientation process will help a new employee to succeed by:
Training alone won’t guarantee that mistakes or errors in judgement won’t happen, but the healthcare provider and employer are legally responsible to take reasonable steps prevent privacy and security breaches.
Privacy awareness training happens throughout the year. Informal training that is timely – say, the news item of the latest privacy breach – are great opportunities to reinforce key messages. Use ‘what if that happened to us, what would we do?’ to discuss lessons learned and improve your current practices, if necessary. Review near-miss privacy and security incidents in your practice. These are great opportunities to discuss and fix potential problems before they become breaches.
The Privacy Officer may create and deliver the training and will monitor, supervise, and support the training.
Use a variety of written and multi-media content like posters, newsletters, videos, infographics, and lunch ‘n learn discussions to reinforce key messages. People love games, challenges, and cyber competitions, too, as a way to create variety and interest in privacy and security.
I am delighted to share with you a new course, Privacy Awareness in Healthcare: Essentials, training provided by Corridor Interactive. I have the great pleasure to work with Corridor Interactive to develop the course content. Privacy Awareness in Healthcare: Essentials provides a privacy awareness training program available on demand. Individuals can register for the course and have access to a 3-month subscription. Employers can also purchase training for groups of employees; employees can access the internet based training at a time and location convenient to them. Employers can monitor the employee’s training progress and receive a report of employee’s satisfactory completion of on-line quizzes.
The Health Information Act Guidelines and Practices Manual from AHW provides an administrative checklist of custodian's responsibilities, including training requirements. This is a good outline for your privacy management program and employee orientation even if you don't need to follow the HIA. See Appendix 3 & 4.
Also see the Employee Orientation Checklist from the HRC Council: Getting the Right People.
Make use of networking within your organization and with associations, or organizations of similar or complementary services. Some vendors facilitate user groups. The Alberta Association of Clinic Managers and the Medical Group Management Association of Canada offer networking for Clinic Managers. Privacy Officers can find resources and networking at Privacy and Access Council of Canada.
Email a Friend.
Tweet your Followers.
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within 6 months after a privacy and security breach.
You can prevent this by implementing good policies, procedures and best practices in your office. Provide privacy and security awareness training to all of your staff. Some staff with greater responsibilities will need additional training.
You may not be able to do everything, but doing nothing is not an option.
Share this infographic with tips that you can share with your team.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month! Information Managers is celebrating by hosting our annual 15 Day Privacy Challenge. The 15 Day Privacy Challenge is a fun, no cost educational opportunity on privacy and security.
We are proud to be a Champion of National Cyber Security Awareness Month #CyberAware #15DayPrivacyChallenge.
#CyberAware, #NCSAM, cyber security, Practical Privacy Coach, small business, small business weekPasswords are everywhere! It is the minimum security safeguard for all our devices – from our computers to ATM banking, to voice mail to security alarms.
But how secure are your passwords?
Passwords that are easy to ‘hack' or guess are opportunities for attackers to access personal or sensitive information or install malware (malicious software).
#15DayPrivacyChallenge, #CyberAware, 15 Day Privacy Challenge, best practice, passwords, Practical Privacy Coach, privacy, security, TELUS WISEDoes your organization have a privacy officer?
If your business involves the collection, use, and disclosure of your clients' personal information, a privacy officer is necessary in order to meet legislated requirements.
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Don't get caught on the phish-hook! There are many creative ‘cyber bad guys' who love to trick you into providing your personal information. So, you need to educate yourself about the kind of scams out there, and take heed to prevent a cyber attack.
Think about a medieval castle. A moat surrounds high walls, protected by soldiers behind battlements. There is likely a drawbridge and a portcullis, and slitted windows for archers. These layers of defences keep the castle safer than if the inhabitants rely on only one strategy for defence.
Your computer is no different.
A password-protected computer, for example, may be compromised if you share the password. But if your data is also encrypted, a potential breach can be averted. Like a moat and a portcullis, layers of protection help to make your computer defences stronger.
#15DayPrivacyChallenge, #CyberAware, 15 Day Privacy Challenge, computer security, Practical Privacy Coach, privacyYou know that Joni Mitchell song, Big Yellow Taxi? “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone.”
This couldn't be more true than when your computer crashes. It's a terrible feeling when your software or hardware suddenly doesn't work, or you can't find an important file you know you had last month. This experience can be a speed bump on your busy day, or a nightmare that takes you days and weeks, and a lot of money, to recover.
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