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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Your service provider has your reputation in its hands

Once again, a very vivid reminder that service providers often have your corporate reputation in their hands. Siliconvalley.com is reporting on an indicident in which computers were stolen from a "solution provider", containing sensitive personal information of the customers of the bank that outsourced the services:

Stolen computers have Wells Fargo customer data:
"NEW YORK (AP) - Thousands of Wells Fargo & Co. mortgage and student-loan customers may be at risk for identity theft after four computers were stolen last month from a vendor that prints loan statements.
The computers were taken from the Atlanta office of Regulus Integrated Solutions LLC contained customer names, addresses, and social security and account numbers."

Any company considering outsourcing services that will involve the transfer of personal information must carry out full due diligence to make sure they know what they are getting into. There can be a lot of finger-pointing in the courts, but as far as consumers are concerned, it will be their bank, their phone company, their credit card company, not some nameless service provider, who dropped the ball.

Under the Canadian federal privacy law, PIPEDA, every organization that collects, uses and discloses personal information is responsible for securing personal information against accidental leaks. This responsibility follows the data and the original collector must ensure that any service providers have adequate safeguards.

Labels: identity theft, information breaches, privacy