Privacy Canada

2016-01-20 22:08:09 BlackBerry says its encryption has not been “cracked” by police

"BlackBerry is refuting recent media claims that its encryption was “cracked” in police investigations where data was recovered from encrypted devices.

Police in the Netherlands and Canada reported that they had managed to access data from BlackBerrys in recent investigations, prompting BlackBerry’s unsigned blog post stating that its devices are “secure as they have always been.”"

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/01/19/blackberry-says-its-encryption-not-cracked-by-police/ Open / Comment

2016-01-19 19:47:00 Ottawa working on "options regarding next steps" for Canada-wide mandatory privacy breach notification

"Before the House of Commons was dissolved last summer to kick off the federal election, the ruling Conservatives passed the Digital Privacy Act, which creates new offences for failing to report data security breaches. However, nation-wide mandatory breach notification would not actually take effect unless the government develops regulations, and it is not clear whether the newly-elected Liberals plan to do this."

http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/news/ottawa-working-on-options-regarding-next-steps-for-canada-wide-mandatory-privacy-breach-notification/1003981705/?&er=NA Open / Comment

2016-01-19 19:45:44 New year resolutions

"To many, the dawn of a new year brings energy and a desire to take on new tasks and commitments. Along with the familiar resolutions to exercise more, drink less, lose weight, and eat more kale, legal counsel, risk managers, and chief information and privacy officers should consider whether their organizations are adequately prepared to deal with data breaches.

While experiencing a data breach is inevitably a nightmare for all involved, there is no question that having a well-crafted, intelligent data breach plan in place before the event occurs will help lessen the blow."

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5893/New-year-resolutions.html Open / Comment

2016-01-18 19:20:20 Cyber security must be viewed as a business issue, not a technology-only issue: PwC Canada

"Canadian companies are taking steps towards establishing holistic, integrated safeguards against cyber security attacks, progress that will need to continue as the number of breaches increases, the threat landscape becomes more complicated and attacks grow sophisticated, suggests PwC Canada."

http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/news/cyber-security-must-be-viewed-as-a-business-issue-not-a-technology-only-issue-pwc/1003978981/?&er=NA#top Open / Comment

2016-01-18 19:14:40 Canadian Judge Offers Guidelines to Make Cellphone Surveillance Less Intrusive

"Last Thursday, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that a 2014 police request for tens of thousands of cellphone subscriber records—also known as "tower dumps”—was overly broad, and thus unconstitutional.

The case, which The Globe and Mail had previously called a "landmark ruling" for cell phone users' privacy rights, didn't outlaw tower dumps completely. But what it did do was establish public guidelines for what a reasonable tower dump should look like—information which has been largely elusive in Canada and the US."

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/canadian-judge-offers-guidelines-to-make-cellphone-surveillance-less-intrusive Open / Comment

2016-01-18 19:11:41 Canadian Companies Increase Cybersecurity Investments 82 Percent YoY: Report

"Investments in cybersecurity by Canadian enterprises increased 82 percent year over year, but incidents increased by twice that over the same period, according to research released Wednesday by PwC .The Global State of Information Security (GSIS) Survey 2016 indicates a gap in executive understanding of the threat landscape, and PwC has launched a cyber breach simulation “Game of Threats” to bridge the gap with education."

http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/canadian-companies-increase-cybersecurity-investments-82-percent-yoy-report Open / Comment

2016-01-18 19:09:24 Canada's Brewing Privacy Problems

"Amazon’s announcement last week that it plans to establish Canadian-based data centres to address mounting fears over the privacy and surveillance implications of information stored in the United States highlights how businesses and consumers have become increasingly concerned with where their data is transferred and stored.

Yet two unconnected developments — a recent European privacy decision and the Trans Pacific Partnership — could create a Canadian privacy problem that even local data centres will not solve."

http://startouch.thestar.com/screens/4a75e5d0-3a22-45a1-87a8-815700145001%7C_0.html Open / Comment

2016-01-13 21:57:28 All-in-one ID cards coming to Manitoba

"Manitobans will soon have access to an all-in-one card that will combine driver’s licences with their health-care identification number.

The plan is to start issuing the free personal identification cards by the fall of 2017, Health Minister Sharon Blady said Monday."

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/01/11/all-in-one-id-cards-coming-to-manitoba Open / Comment

2016-01-12 20:51:48 Canadian Cops Can Decrypt PGP BlackBerrys Too

"On Monday, Motherboard reported that leading Dutch forensics investigators say they are able to read encrypted messages sent on PGP BlackBerry phones—custom devices which are advertised as more suited for secure communication than off-the-shelf models.

A myriad of other law enforcement agencies would not comment on whether they have this capability, but court documents reviewed by Motherboard show that the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RMCP) can also decrypt messages from PGP BlackBerrys."

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/canadian-cops-can-decrypt-pgp-blackberrys-too Open / Comment

2016-01-11 20:06:16 Halifax man finds apparent military hard drive at recycling depot

"HALIFAX — A 30 G hard drive found at a recycling depot that a Halifax man says contains personal information including the names and numbers of defence personnel has been taken by the military.

Pete Stevens, who works in the electronics industry, said he found the hard drive about a year ago at a recycling depot and suspected that it previously belonged to the military after running recovery software."

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/halifax-man-finds-apparent-military-hard-drive-at-recycling-depot-1.2730460 Open / Comment