Tips for Protection of Personal Information
Remember: personal information is recorded information about an identifiable individual
Protecting Personal Information – Do
- Know which of your records contain personal information
- Lock up offices and filing cabinets and leave desks clean
- Use password protection and encryption for electronic personal information
- Talk to your colleagues about the need to protect personal information
- Limit access to personal information to only those who need it to do their job
- Review policies and procedures to better protect personal information
- Lock your computer when away from your desk
- Report suspected privacy breaches to the Information and Privacy Officer
- Destroy personal information securely and completely
Protecting Personal Information – Don’t
- Collect personal information without a valid reason
- Keep personal information for longer than is necessary
- Store highly sensitive emails in Outlook - save to a secure network drive instead
- Share personal information with colleagues unless they need it to do their job
- Disclose personal information except for the purpose it was collected unless you have the consent of the individual or disclosure is permitted for another reason
- Transmit personal information by email unless it is necessary
- Take personal information home with you unless it is necessary
- Give out personal information over the phone/email unless you can verify the identity of the recipient
- Use personal email for work business