A Guide To Cybersecurity Compliance

Protecting?valuable?data from clients is a top priority for?businesses.?It’s essential to stay ahead of compliance in order to protect a business, keep up efficiency levels, prevent penalties and safeguard against surprises that may sabotage normal business operations and damage corporate image.??

When a company obtains sensitive data, such as a?clients’?social?insurance?number or credit card number, it accepts responsibility for how that information is handled. Businesses must take the appropriate procedures to?protect?private?client?information and defend themselves from internal and external IT risks.?

What is Cybersecurity Compliance???

Cybersecurity compliance?refers?to following?a set of?rules and meeting requirements. In terms of cybersecurity, compliance means adherence to cybersecurity regulations created by a governing body or institution to warrant at least a minimum required level of security. While cybersecurity covers all the processes, tools, and operations deployed to protect data, compliance aligns those security measures with applicable regulations.??

What Are the Private Sector Data Protection Laws in Canada???

PIPEDA??

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is Canada’s federal privacy law for businesses.??

PIPEDA was implemented on April 13, 2000, with the goal of promoting trust and data privacy in e-commerce. Since then, it has expanded to encompass areas such as banking, broadcasting, and health care.??

The federal private sector law, PIPEDA, regulates the acquisition, use, and disclosure of personal information across provinces and internationally. It covers personal data (including employee data) stored by federally regulated organizations across the country, including banks, airlines, railways, telecommunications corporations, and internet service providers.??

Personal information (except employee information) acquired, utilized, and disclosed by organizations during a commercial activity that takes place in a province that does not have “substantially similar” laws is also covered by PIPEDA.??

The privacy statutes in Alberta, British Columbia, and Québec (mentioned above) have all been judged “substantially similar” to PIPEDA, and as a result, PIPEDA will not apply to commercial organizations operating inside those jurisdictions,?with the exception of?federally regulated businesses.???

Therefore, the applicable laws that regulate data protection in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec are the AB’s PIPA, BC’s PIPA, and the Quebec Private Sector Act.???

CASL??

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, SC 2010 c 23 (‘CASL’) frequently applies to electronic marketing efforts.??

It is dedicated to minimizing the adverse implications of spam and other cyber threats. Its purpose is to make the internet a safer and more secure place.??

There are numerous other statutes that deal with personal health information, consumer protection, and the public sector.??

Who Must Comply?with?the?PIPEDA???

PIPEDA applies to any private organization in Canada that gathers personal information during a commercial activity. Employee personal information is also covered by PIPEDA for government works, undertakings, and businesses. Federally regulated organizations must also comply with PIPEDA, including airlines and airports, banks, telecommunications companies, inter-provincial, and international transportation companies.?

Although accounting firms are not implicitly financial service institutions, they deal with numerous?personally?identifiable?information (PII), such as social?insurance?numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and more. Therefore, they must comply with the PIPEDA or any of the laws applicable depending on the province.??

Regarding law firms, the federal?Personal?Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (the PIPEDA) applies to lawyers and law firms that gather, make use of and disclose?personally?identifiable information during their commercial activities, with the exception when such activities occur within a province in which provincial legislation has been declared “substantially similar”.??

What Security Measures must private organizations take according to the PIPEDA???

PII data must be protected under the Data Protection Act. PIPEDA, for example, mandates that personal information be safeguarded against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. The type of safeguards should vary depending on the PI’s sensitivity, amount, distribution, format, and method of storage, and should include technological precautions like passwords and encryption.??

When Should I Report to Authorities???

In the event of a data breach, several data protection statutes require breach notification and recording. For example, PIPEDA mandates that companies preserve records of any incident involving unauthorized access to or disclosure of?personal information (PI)?as a result of a breach of (or failure to establish) the security safeguards specified by the Act. If an?incident poses a real risk of serious harm to any individual(s), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) must be notified, as must any business or government institution that may be able to limit or mitigate the risk of harm.??

The minimum material for reports to the OPC is prescribed by PIPEDA, which includes (without limitation) a description of the Incident, its chronology, the?PI?impacted, the number of individuals impacted, and the steps taken to mitigate/reduce the risk of harm.??

Am I Obliged to Report to Affected Individuals or Third Parties???

Some Data Protection Statutes impose notification requirements in the event of a?PI-related incident. For example, PIPEDA mandates that persons be notified as soon as possible of any breach of security safeguards involving personal information under the organization’s control if it is reasonable to assume that the breach poses a real risk of severe harm to the individual.??

The content and manner of delivery of the notice are governed under PIPEDA. The notice must contain sufficient information to enable Individuals to comprehend the significance of the Incident to them and to take steps to mitigate/reduce the risk of harm. It must also contain certain prescribed content, such as a description of the Incident, the Pl impacted, and the steps taken by the organization to mitigate/reduce the risk of harm.??

What Are?the?Penalties???

In the event of non-compliance with PIPEDA, the OPC can issue non-binding recommendations, and after the OPC’s decision, complainants can file a complaint with the Federal Court for damages. According to the Attorney General, failing to comply with PIPEDA’s breach reporting, notification, and recording requirements can result in a fine of up to $10,000 for a summary conviction and up to $100,000 for an indictable violation. Sanctions may be imposed if certain provincial data protection statutes are not followed.???

How to implement a Cybersecurity Compliance Program???

Cybersecurity breaches can result in major financial losses, reputational damage, or business disruptions that can impair a company’s market position in the long run. As a result, cybersecurity compliance processes aid any private firm in a variety of ways, including preserving legal information, transferring and maintaining confidential client data, and protecting financial assets. Without them, any business would be vulnerable to data breaches, extortion, theft, and reputational damage.???

One of the best ways in which any organization can develop its cybersecurity program is by referring to the?US’s?National Institute of Standards?and?Technology (NIST)?framework. It has?proven to help organizations to better analyze, structure, manage, and reduce cybersecurity risks.???

The framework aids in identifying the most significant actions that must be completed to ensure critical operations and service delivery. It also helps with the prioritization of investments and provides a consistent vocabulary for cybersecurity and risk management within and outside the company.??

Below is a?NIST?Cybersecurity?Framework Summary and detailed breakdown:??

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The?NIST Cybersecurity Framework?is structured by five core?functions also known as the Framework Core. A security lifecycle is represented by the functions being grouped in parallel with one another. Each function is critical to a well-functioning security posture and good risk management. Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover are the five high-level functions of the Core. These five functions apply to risk management in general, not just cybersecurity risk management. The 23 Categories, which are divided into five Functions, are the next level down.??

The following are the definitions for each function:??

Identify:?Create a shared awareness of cybersecurity risk to systems, assets, data, and capabilities across the company.??

Protect:?Develop and implement suitable protections to ensure critical infrastructure services are delivered.??

Detect:?Create and implement procedures for detecting the occurrence of a security event.??

Respond:?When a security incident is detected, develop and implement the required activities.??

Recover:?Develop and implement necessary resilience activities and restore any capabilities or services that have been harmed as a result of a security event.??

Conclusion:??

Cybersecurity compliance is a broad topic. Reading at all these penalties, obligations, cybersecurity frameworks may feel like looking at pieces of a puzzle.?The good news is that you?don’t have to deal with all this on your?own.?Implementing top-tier procedures so that you can manage all the sensitive data from your clients and employees in a secure way is our top priority.?Schedule a meeting?with us?to help you implement your cybersecurity compliance program.??