Customer Data Protection: A Business Responsibility

If your organization is affected by a cyber attack that has compromised your data or your clients' data, an investigation will be conducted into the protections you have or should have put in place to prevent such a situation from occurring.

If you have failed to take the necessary preventive measures, you may be held responsible and face significant fines or even prosecution. Pretending ignorance will not protect you under any circumstances and this nightmare could cost you dearly and greatly affect your reputation...

Cybersecurity: a major challenge for businesses

Increasingly widespread cybercrimes

Cybercrimes have become increasingly common in recent years. Data leakage affects far more companies than is thought. The best known cases are those of Desjardins, Equifax, Revenu Québec and Capital One who recently stole personal data from several million clients. It is not just the big companies that are targeted.

Contrary to what many people think, small businesses are often more vulnerable because of their low level of protection, which is well known to cyber criminals. The only difference is that we rarely hear about it simply because of lack of awareness. Only a malicious employee can compromise your personal data and credibility.

Protecting your data should always be a priority

Companies keep a lot of sensitive information about their customers. The leakage of these data could have serious consequences. It is therefore essential to know your responsibilities as a company on the protection of your customers' data and to take the necessary preventive measures before it is too late. Every company has the advantage of protecting customer information, not only for its own credibility, but also because this security measure contributes to the retention of its customers, as this control of sensitive data helps to maintain public confidence.

Frequent collection of personal information from consumers requires processing in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA):

Personal information may only be used for the purposes for which it was collected. The organization that intends to use them for other purposes must again obtain consent to do so. Personal information must be protected by appropriate measures.

By failing to comply with this law, you may have to deal with a lawsuit, major class actions, loss of clients and possibly even bankruptcy. That is why security should always be a priority.

How to protect your customers from theft of their information?

By putting in place good preventive measures as soon as possible, you help avoid fraud and theft of your customers' confidential data. In particular, respect for the legal framework is essential. However, an organization may be in compliance with the regulations, but is this necessarily the case for its employees? There are many sneaky methods used by employees to fly, and this happens much more often than is believed. According to Statistics Brain, 75% of employees have already stolen their employer at least once in their lives. Whether it's theft of your information or credit card fraud, your hard-earned savings could quickly be compromised.

How can you identify a malicious employee?

Have you ever heard of SIEM? This is a safety event management system for more efficient and timely detection of safety incidents that would normally be under radar. This tool allows you to start your defensive measures much faster, thus avoiding time loss in diagnostic research. So you minimize impacts and prevent theft of information.

If SIEM detects abnormal behaviour with your employees, you will be alerted and able to act in time. You might also know if an intruder is trying to connect to your network to extract sensitive information such as price lists or customers. It could also be a virus that spreads on your systems to do damage...

About ARS

For 30 years, our clients have appreciated us for our diagnostic strength and have recognized us for our expertise in solving complex problems. Our mission is to help business leaders ensure that their IT contributes to their business success and that they achieve concrete results by addressing technologies differently from what is currently being done, not by investing more, but otherwise.

$10,000/hour is the average cost of a factory stop. At ARS, we understand this reality. The leaders of the manufacturing companies therefore turn to us to be 100% operational and deliver their products on time to their customers. We help them solve their IT problems permanently and strategically plan their investments. All too often, projects are treated in silos - implanted in isolation from each other, without an overall view of the impacts as a whole and without any tangible link to the client's business objectives. Technology is thus becoming a parallel world, not aligned with the company, which is investing large sums.

At ARS, we help you reverse this situation so that your IT is actively involved in your growth, becoming a business lever and helping you achieve a higher level of efficiency and productivity. In this way, we eliminate the risk that you will incur unnecessary costs that will not bring the desired results. With us, you will have peace of mind.