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The Media Awareness Network, benefactor of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s Contributions Program, has launched the third Phase (Phase III) of its ongoing study, Young Canadians in a Wired World (YCWW). This third phase is a crucial element to the project, as it will shed a more distinct light on the need for online education resources in classrooms and communities.

The study is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging study of youth internet use in Canada. The project tracks and investigates the behaviours, attitudes, and opinions of Canadian children and youth with respect to their use of the Internet. There have been two previous phases over seven years. The first comprised of telephone interviews with parents, focus groups with parents and children and quantitative research findings from a national school-based survey of 5,682 students in grades 4 – 11. The second stage includes qualitative research findings from focus groups with parents and young people aged 11 – 17, and quantitative research findings from a national school-based survey of 5,272 students from grades 4 – 11. You can find more information on these first two phases here.

MNet’s research has gathered a wealth of information about the online activities of Canadian youth, and has raised a number of privacy issues that require society’s attention. Perhaps most importantly, the research has highlighted the importance of education as a key response in helping young people make smart and informed online decisions, as well as stay safe online.

The third phase in MNet’s research will help inform public policy and support the development of relevant digital literacy resources for Canadian homes, schools, and communities. MNet has already begun implementing the new research through various interviews and focus groups. Phase III of the research project is scheduled to be completed in 2012, finishing with a nation-wide field study of a representative sample of Canadian students and teachers.

Stay tuned for more updates about this exciting endeavour.

For more information, please contact Francois Cadieux at Francois.Cadieux@priv.gc.ca.

Over the course of the year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is hosting consultations with Canadians on issues that pose a serious challenge to privacy. In an attempt to learn more about the privacy implications of new industries, the focus of the consultations has been on online tracking, profiling and targeting of consumers, and the increasing prevalence of cloud computing.

Following the first such consultation in Toronto, a second event was held in Montreal on May 19^th, 2010. The event was a resounding success, due in part to the fact that the panels had a lively audience both on and offline.

Did you miss the event? You can still watch the webcast here, and you can check out what was happening on Twitter for each panel below.

Panel 1: Frontiers of Consumer Information Datamining and Analytics

Frontiers of Consumer Information Datamining and Analytics Panel

Panel 2: Online Identity and Reputation

Online Identity and Reputation Panel

Panel 3: Online marketing methods: gaming, advertising, applications and social networks

Online marketing methods: gaming, advertising, applications and social networks panel

Once again, students from the Encounters with Canada program have selected the winners of our annual student video contest! Here are the winners for our 2009 competition:

The three top video artists in the live action category were:

1^st place: Jeffery Burge, Vanessa Caicedo, Alexandra Georgaras, Gareth Imrie and Fiona Sauder of Canterbury High School in Ottawa, Ontario, with a video titled “Think Before You Click”. They win a $100 gift card and an iPod Touch.

2^nd place: David Borish and Mory Kaba of Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, with a video titled “Friend or Foe”. They win a $250 gift card.

3^rd place: Jennifer Paul from Brampton, Ontario, with a video titled “Too Good to be True”. She wins a $150 gift card.

The three top video artists in the animation category were:

1^st place: Tyler Ford and Matthew Kerr of Osgoode Township High School in Metcalfe, Ontario, with a video titled “Privacy: Think Before You Click”. They win a $100 gift card and an iPod Touch.

2^nd place: Rebecca Kartzmart and Emily Patterson of Osgoode Township High School in Metcalfe, Ontario, with a video titled “Carol the Carrot”. They win a $250 gift card.

3^rd place: Scott Piper of Osgoode Township High School in Metcalfe, Ontario, with a video titled “Privacy Matters”. He wins a $150 gift card.

The three top video artists in the French video category were:

1^st place: Benjamin Dion-Weiss of l’École secondaire publique De La Salle in Ottawa, Ontario, with a video titled “Le réseautage social d’après le Comte Hackula”. He wins a $100 gift card and an iPod Touch.

2^nd place: Stéphanie Lemieux and Emily Vendette of l’École secondaire catholique Embrun in Embrun, Ontario, with a video titled “Le Journal de Lisa”. They win a $250 gift card.

3^rd place: Cosmo Darwin of l’École secondaire publique De La Salle in Ottawa, Ontario, with a video titled “Trouvée & Perdu”. He wins a $150 gift card.

The three top video artists in the Junior category were:

1^st place: Mackenzie Giffen, Chris Johnstone, Chris Nattrass, Curtis Sookhoo and Gabriel Zingle of F.R. Haythorne Junior High in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with a video titled “The Spanish Lottery”. They win a $100 gift card and an iPod Touch.

2^nd place: Trevor Aiello, Connor Bergersen, Chad Bullock and Lochlan Thomson of F.R. Haythorne Junior High in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with a video titled “A lesson In Privacy”. They win a $250 gift card.

3^rd place: Matthew Craner, Scott Deshane, Madison Gilchrist, Joe Matishak and Graeme Wyatt of F.R. Haythorne Junior High in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with a video titled “The Phone Number Test”. They win a $150 gift card.

We also recognized seven teachers for their enthusiastic participation in the contest. They were:

• Crystal Getschel, of F.R. Haythorne Junior High in Sherwood Park, Alberta, with 26 entries.
• Majed Mattar, of Osgoode Township High School in Metcalfe, Ontario, with 21 entries.
• Professor Kaduri, of Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Ontario, with 15 entries.
• Grant Holmes, of École secondaire publique De La Salle, Ottawa, Ontario, with 11 entries.
• Carol Shaw, of Woodstock Collegiate Institute, Woodstock, Ontario, with 8 entries.
• Kevin Shae, of Sir Robert Borden High School, Ottawa, Ontario with 6 entries.
• Stephen Willcock, of Canterbury High School, Ottawa, Ontario, with 5 entries.

Each teacher will receive a $250 gift certificate at Indigo Books and Music to use for personal use or for the school they represent.

The videos will be posted as soon as possible to our youth site. They will also be available on our YouTube channel.

We were thrilled with the number and quality of submissions we received for our second competition. We’ll be launching the 2010 contest in May!

March is Fraud Prevention Month. Throughout the month of March, every day, the OPC will be highlighting a fraud prevention tip on Twitter. You can also learn more about identity theft here.

On Data Privacy 2010 we’d like to take a moment to remind everyone that is the responsibility of both individuals and companies to make sure that personal information is safe.

If you own a company, or work for a big one: in the past, you may have had to ensure that your customers’ name and address information (and in some cases credit card and billing information) were safe. Now, many of you are providing technology and tools for your customers to put increasing amounts of personal information online. Does your company have the systems in place to safeguard this information? Do you give your customers the tools and options to control how their information is used?

If you are a user of new and cool technology: in the past a telephone was a telephone, a video game was a video game, a stuffed toy was simply that – a stuffed toy. Today, more and more toys and handheld tools come with the ability to go online. Do you understand how to enjoy your toys and gadgets without putting your personal information at risk?

If you are a parent or guardian, teacher, coach or caregiver: do the young people in your life understand how to use all these new toys and gadgets while keeping their personal information safe? Our office has recently made youth privacy a key priority. Today, we have posted some new resources to the Parents & Teachers section of our youth web site. The resources include information on 12 privacy issues (such as the importance of privacy settings and knowing who your friends are on social networking sites), along with ideas for generating discussion about each issue with young people. You can use these resources to start discussion about personal privacy and the importance of thinking about what you post on the Internet.

Regardless of which group you are in – if you need any information about how to keep personal information secure, visit our web sites – priv.gc.ca and youthprivacy.ca.

Do your loved ones have toys on their wish lists this holiday? A stuffed animal for a little one… a cell phone or a camera for a teen? These days, these toys and gadgets are more than they used to be. Just a few years ago a stuffed animal was something to cuddle with and a phone was, well, just a phone! Now, many stuffed animals come with codes that allow kids to register them online so that they can play games, feed and care for them, and even chat and play with other kids. And many cellphones are phones, computers and cameras, all in one.

And while such toys and gadgets can be fun, we want people to enjoy them without putting their privacy and personal information at risk.

Here are our tips for protecting your privacy as you and your loved ones enjoy your new gadgets and toys. For parents especially:

Understand new toys and their capabilities – It is important to understand the capabilities of new toys and how your children will use them. Speak with your kids about how they will use the toy and, where appropriate, agree on guidelines and limits.

Pay attention to privacy settings and parental controls – Privacy settings on social networking sites control what people see about you. Only allow your friends to see your page, your posts, your photos and your applications. Parents, if you depend on parental control software that is installed on your desktop, remember that. Those controls won’t be in place on new mobile devices.

Remember, with Wi-Fi, children can access the Internet from anywhere in the house – And if their new toy/gadget has Internet capabilities they can also use it to access the Internet from locations and networks outside your supervision and control.

Here are our tips for protecting your privacy as you and your loved ones enjoy your new gadgets and toys. For everyone:

Think before you click – The Internet is a public arena, and photos and comments you post are permanent. Even if you delete them from a web page, they could continue to exist in archived pages, in your computer’s cache or on the computers of other Internet users who may have copied them. If you don’t want certain people to see something, now or in the future, don’t post it!

Pick and protect the perfect password – Your information is only as safe as your passwords. Use different passwords for different systems; make sure they are strong (eight characters or more and a variety of letters or numbers); never share them with anybody; and change them regularly.

Know your friends – Online, you can’t be 100 per cent sure who you are talking to. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know in real life.

Protect your identity – Identity theft is a growing problem and the Internet is the least private of spaces. Don’t post or e-mail personal details such as your social insurance number, phone number, home address or birth date.

Be careful on online gaming sites – Online gaming sites are hotbeds of people accessing personal information. Be aware that ill-intentioned people can use information from your profile to establish accounts in your name, or use your stolen identity to access your existing accounts.

Be wary of e-mail or instant messages from unknown people – Don’t open online messages that seem odd or are from someone you don’t know. They could contain a virus or let a hacker gain access to your computer.

Have a happy holiday and enjoy all your new toys!

Our Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart is worried that maybe they don’t. After conducting an investigation into Facebook’s privacy policies, we’re now turning our attention to youth as the school year gets underway. Because while they may be savvy about using social media, many of them still may not know how to create a secure online identity.

If you’re listening to the radio today you may hear a message from our office that we created especially for young Canadians. In case you miss it, we’ve provided clips from it for you here . The gist of it is that many young people are still jeopardizing their safety, and possibly compromising their futures, by sharing photos and information – some of it inappropriate – with people they don’t know… people who may not be who they say they are.

Young people – everyone, really –  need to always be aware that the personal information that they post online could be used in a variety of shady ways, from embarrassing them, to stealing their identities – even for finding out where they live, go to school, or their plans for the weekend. Our radio message urges young people (and their parents and teachers) to regularly visit youthprivacy.ca for information on safely using the Internet and social networking sites.

The message also reminds everyone that we’re inviting all young people, between the ages of 12 and 18, to participate in our second annual video contest. All they have to do is create a one- to two-minute public service announcement on the importance of privacy by Friday, December 11th and they could win some really cool prizes!

Many of you have serious reservations about conducting on-line transactions, and often associate identity theft with IT geniuses hacking into computer networks. We really can’t turn a blind eye to technological development and its close connection to the emergence of new techniques for exploiting personal information. However, identity theft transcends the virtual world, and it often hits much closer to home.  

A survey conducted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner shows that one Canadian out of six has been the victim of some form of identity theft. More than 90% of Canadians report that they are concerned about identity theft.

Benoît Dupont, the Canada Research Chair in Security, Identity and Technology at l’Université de Montréal, and his colleague Guillaume Louis have published a report which offers a profile of identity thieves and examines the way they work. The resulting highlights are alarming. “Identity thieves: a common delinquency profile” reports that 1.7 million Canadians were affected by identity theft in 2008, and that 340,000 Quebeckers fell victim to this type of crime the previous year. A report released by the McMaster eBusiness Research Centre in 2008 confirmed these  figures and showed that victims spent more than 20 million hours and $150 million resolving problems associated with these crimes (Sproule and Archer, 2008).

The 90% of Canadians who report that they are concerned with identity theft have reason to worry! Dupont and Louis recently produced a profile of what they call “ordinary” offenders. This profile is more frightening than organized crime or the virtual profiles we tend to associate with “identity thieves.”

Not saying that we should underestimate cyberspace in light of this finding; it plays a considerable role nonetheless. More than 45% of cases of identity theft involve Internet use. However, the way “offenders” use the World Wide Web is not as significant as we might think in terms of acquiring the victim’s personal information. On the contrary, it plays a greater role in actually committing fraud. However, at issue here is understanding, first and foremost, how identity thieves acquire information, if not on-line. Who are these identity thieves?

The Université de Montréal research team based its work on 574 news articles collected from January to June 2008, containing 195 instances of identity theft involving 422 offenders. It identified ordinary individuals who use strategies that vary widely in terms of sophistication. The following highlights complete the profile of these ordinary individuals:

[Translation]
Women account for nearly 40% of offenders. We believe that this strong presence can be attributed to the absence of violence inherent to this sort of crime and the possibility of committing the crime without help from an accomplice.
 
Identity thieves are relatively older than other offenders; the average age is  33 years. The oldest offender identified in our database was 67 years old. 
 
Offenders acted alone in the majority of cases (64.6%), which seems to contradict the theory of extensive involvement by organized crime in this type of offence.

The approach to committing theft is as ordinary as the thief’s profile. It’s a far cry from hacking into computer networks: 53.4% of incidents involve the theft of wallets and purses, and fraud. The proportion of professionals who use the personal information they collect about their clients, patients, or beneficiaries for their own benefit accounts for 28.3% of identity theft.

But why steal identities? Simply because it’s easy! According to Dupont, identity theft is attractive because of the low risk involved and the ease of carrying on this activity. Fears of increased popularity are fuelled by the economic crisis and the direct profits that can be made (US$26,000 on average). Identity theft has one of the fastest growing crime rates seen in recent years (Finklea, 2009).

An increasing number of measures are taken to give Canadians the tools they need to prevent identity theft and to encourage businesses and government organizations to properly protect the personal information they store.

Nonetheless, in reality, day-to-day vigilance is necessary above all else.

1) Susan Sproule and Norm Archer, McMaster University, McMaster eBusiness Research Centre, “Measuring Identity Theft in Canada: 2008 Consumer Survey – Working Paper #23” July 2008. Online at: http://www.merc-mcmaster.ca/working-papers/measuring-identity-theft-in-canada-2008-consumer-survey/

2) Finklea, Kristin M. (2009). Identity theft: Trends and Issues. Congressional Research Service: Washington DC.

As we mentioned earlier, Twitter is where everyone seems to be these days.

Until recently, identity theft on the popular microblogging site seemed to be limited to pranksters impersonating celebrities, the most famous being a fake Tina Fey who, according to rumour, even got a laugh out of Tina Fey herself.

Today, though, it appears the non-famous among us are the targets of the latest identity theft scam — and the consequences are not exactly funny. (here, and here)

Because many of us run out of things to tweet about, even in 140 characters or less, we sometimes take part in games and trends. Among the latest were several variants on the “porn star name game,” where you form a fictional, adult-movie screen name for yourself by combining different names from your past, such as your mother’s maiden name, the name of your first pet, the name of the street where you grew up …

Wait a minute. Each of those names is often used as a security question when accessing online email services, using online banking sites, or even when speaking to your bank on the phone. Is it any wonder that phishers encouraged everyone on Twitter to take part in the fun?

Maybe the hilarity of introducing yourself as “Sasha Johnson Mount Royal” to the entire online world isn’t worth the chuckle after all.

Did you know it’s Privacy Awareness Week in the Asia Pacific Region? If you’ve got young people in your life, who you’re trying to impart the privacy-awareness message to, have them check out the three-minute video, featured on our YouTube channel, that the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) launched to mark the week.

The video features a series of animated scenarios that highlight the potential consequences of posting personal information online. Would your child, niece, nephew or student want their grandma, coach or teacher to see what they’re posting online? If the answer is “no” they need to watch this video – and learn to think before they upload!