CIBC Says Opp's

Do you think the CIBC will lower service charges for having screwed up, of fire anyone? Nah....

For the second time in three years, the ability of the CIBC (TSX:CM) to protect confidential data has come under scrutiny after a computer file containing information on up to 470,000 Talvest Mutual Funds clients was lost in transit between offices. In 2004, it was disclosed that the bank had for three years been inadvertently sending faxes containing confidential information to scrap yards in West Virginia and suburban Montreal.

And CIBC is not the only one who has breeched your right to privacy.

As for the credit card information at HomeSense and Winners, senior representatives from the Canadian banks held a conference call with major Canadian card issuers, VISA and Mastercard, to discuss damage control Thursday.

A senior banking executive confirmed information has already been used for fraudulent activity and the banks had received thousands of calls about the compromised credit card information.

TJX Co. Inc., based in Framingham, Mass., said they became aware in mid-December of a security breach during which the credit and sales transaction information of "significantly less than millions of holders" was removed from company databases.

The company said computers that handle customer interactions and store information, including credit card numbers, were illegally accessed at several store locations in December. Stores belonging to the TJX chain also accept American Express and Discover credit cards.

The compromised information was from transactions that took place in 2003 and during the period between mid-May and December 2006.

The problem is of course that privacy laws in Canada are a paper tiger.

Regardless of any potential amendments which may be made to PIPEDA in the near future, businesses should, in order to avoid privacy liability under PIPEDA: obtain legal advice in the event that they suffer security breaches (or "involuntary disclosures" of personal information under their control) prior to deciding whether or not they should be notifying the individuals whose information is at stake, credit agencies and other entities such as relevant government agencies or banks of the security breach;

And you can be in charge when a criminal breech of privacy occurs and just go on your merry way complete with payout package....

CRA commissioner resigns in wake of reports of privacy breaches

The head of the Canada Revenue Agency has told his staff he intends to resign his post in April.

"I have come to a stage in my personal and professional life where it is wise to reflect on what I have accomplished," agency commissioner Michel Dorais writes in an internal e-mail dated Jan. 12.

"It has become clear that the time is now ripe for me and my family to take on a new direction, outside of the federal government."

Dorais's resignation follows several media reports that detailed privacy abuses at the agency, including the leak of Liberal MP Ken Dryden's personal tax information and confidential tax information mistakenly mailed out to the wrong recipients.

CRA employees who are found guilty of disclosing confidential tax information - a violation of the Income Tax Act - face fines of up to $5,000 or jail time of up to 12 months. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, breach of trust by a public officer is punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years.

See:

Nice Job If You Can Get It

Criminal Capitalism

CEO's

CIBC

Banks

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