It has been said that the reliance of the Federal Bureaucracy on wireless technology is endangering the confidentiality of the personal information that Canadians entrusted to the government. Even the use of Blackberry or WiFi has been included.
Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released the annual report last Tuesday and it includes an audit of five federal departments that are given responsibility for the storage of many private details of the lives of private residents. None has made a full assessment on the threats by wireless communication, Ms. Stoddart discovered.
According to her report, employees of the government are not required to protect information when they utilize cellphones and other wireless gadgets, there are no instructions on the best alternative ways of doing so were given to them. The five departments included are the Human and Development Skills Canada, Health Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs, the Correctional Service of Canada, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and none of these five organizations made auditing.
Meanwhile, Ms. Stoddart is on the investigation of a complaint by Sean Bruyea, a veteran who accounts that his personal health records were included in a briefing note to a former Veteran Affairs minister. the complaint will then be followed by an audit of the veteran Affairs Department's handling of private information.
Technology helps us in so many ways imaginable. Today we can have access to information in a matter of seconds. We can also do streaming television where we can watch our favorite TV and movies online. We need to take precautions that our wireless technology is secure.
