Passport Applicants at Risk of Privacy Breaches, Says Federal Watchdog

Passport Canada, an agency of the Foreign Affairs Department, processed more than 3.6 million passport applications in 2006-2007 and is responsible for approximately 30 million passports. On December 4, 2008, Canada's Privacy Commissioner released an audit of Passport Canada's operations (Report). The Report highlighted problems in how personal information is collected, stored, used and discarded by passport officials. For example, passport applications and supporting documents are currently kept in clear plastic bags on open shelves. Other documents containing personal information, including credit-card numbers, and, sometimes, social insurance numbers, were thrown out using regular garbage and recycling bins. The Privacy Commission also found that Passport Canada's computer network allowed too many employees to access passport files, including locally-hired staff in consular offices abroad, and that staff had access to files processed by other offices. Furthermore, the Privacy Commission found improper network administration such as a failure to keep audit logs and a failure to encrypt stored personal information. Finally, with reference to the major data breach in Britain which exposed many to the risk of identity theft, the Report found it necessary that Passport Canada implement comprehensive privacy training for employees who handle personal information. Passport Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade have since agreed to improve privacy and security safeguards. For a copy of the Privacy Commissioner's news release and Report, see: http://tinyurl.com/6grmqu For a CBC news article on the topic, visit: http://tinyurl.com/67zaj3 Summary by: Oren Weichenberg