First Reference Talks

Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Personal information online: new tools, old responsibilities

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Sometimes, technology creates new ways to exploit information faster than the law and business can keep up. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen in the case of behavioural advertising. Last year, the Privacy Commissioner conducted consultations on the new ways that organizations are collecting and using customers’ personal information, and prepared its Report on the 2010 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Consultations on Online Tracking, Profiling and Targeting, and Cloud Computing.

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Tags: behavioural advertising, marketing, mobile technology, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, oipc, privacy, Privacy Commissioner, profiling, targeting, technology, tracking
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Slaw: Disgruntled former worker who hijacked network must pay city $1,485,791

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

In a recent survey of 500 information technology and data security workers, 40 percent said they could easily use their knowledge of encryption keys, shared passwords, weak controls and loopholes in data security programs to make off with information, or hold their organization’s data hostage. And 31 percent said that, even if they no longer worked for the company, with their knowledge of the systems they could access encryption keys and authorization codes and hack in remotely to snoop, secretly alter files or shut down the data system.

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Tags: administrative passwords to the network, data security, Digital security firm, disgruntled former employees, employment law, encryption keys, IT department, IT employee, network, network security practices, poor management, risk management, sensitive data, technology, terminations, Venafi
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Are our devices harming our health?

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

I’ve caved. The end of my phone contract has been looming large, and as I pondered my options, somehow I thought, “I’d really like to be more connected.” So I’m ditching my two-year-old, decidedly not smart, flip phone and getting an iPhone—and a data plan. Soon I’ll be able to tweet and update my Facebook status and share photos wherever I am. And I’m afraid.

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Tags: conduct and behaviour, distraction, downtime, employee Internet use, employee relations, exhaustion, facebook, focus, hours of work and overtime claims, Internet, iPhone, multi-tasking, overtime, performance, productivity, risky behaviour, smartphones, social media, stall-call, stress, technology, twitter, wireless
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Most organizations still don’t encrypt data when it leaves the office

Friday, December 17th, 2010

I recently read a news release by the Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner that indicated that there are still high incidences of laptops containing personal information being stolen—without having security measures such as encryption put in place. The commissioner was left scratching his head.

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Tags: Alberta, canadian employment law, employment law, encryption, Encryption technology, identity theft, laptops, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, personal information, private sector privacy legislation, protecting personal information, security measures, stolen laptops, technology
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Improving web accessibility – our own!

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Customers demand more of businesses in so many ways these days—better quality and safety, greater social and environmental responsibility, extra service, and accessibility. The law increases its demands frequently, too. Even our governments and public service providers have a hard time keeping up with the legal requirements! Making improvements in all of these areas can challenge an organization, but only accessibility offers the advantage of access to a market of unrealized potential.

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Tags: accessibility, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, accommodating a disability, AODA, blind, blog comments, canadian employment law, CAPTCHA, Disability, dyslexia, employment law, internet accessibility, learning disability, screen reader, technology, vision loss, web accessibility
Posted in Accessibility Standards, Announcements, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for Information and Communications | Make a Comment »

Workplace communication and the real world: email features for the quick-tempered and impulsive

Monday, August 30th, 2010

You’ve written an email that says some things you might be better off saying in person—or not at all—right? Like when you wanted to tell off a co-worker—or supervisor—about taking credit for your work, or putting you down in front of the boss, or just for generally being a jerk. Maybe you were caught up in the anger of the moment—you let your temper get the best of you—or maybe you were just a bit—or a lot—drunk. And maybe you hit that “Send” button, and maybe you reconsidered before it was too late. I don’t like to imagine the result of sending such a message.

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Tags: beer goggles, communicating at work, communication at work, drinking, email, email at work, email features, gmail, impulsiveness, records, technology, undo send, working conditions, workplace behaviour, workplace communication, workplace conduct
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, Training and Development | 2 Comments »

Social media make it easy to create controversy, but smart practices can limit the risk

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Technology usually helps us function by making daily tasks easier, safer, more efficient, and so on. But sometimes a technology comes along that doesn’t simply improve the way we do something, it actually creates a new type of behaviour. I think this is the case with online social networking, which allows individuals to broadcast to mass audiences in a way that wasn’t available in the past. The question remains, however, as to whether this activity makes life any easier! Some have certainly found it just causes them trouble.

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Tags: Canadian Football League, CFL, communications, discrimination, marketing, policy, racism, social media, social networking, social networking policy, technology, twitter
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »