Privacy and security / January 27, 2021

Privacy in 2021: an interview with Pam Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer, TELUS

Nimmi Kanji

Nimmi Kanji

Director - Social Purpose Programs, For Good and TELUS Wise

Wise - 21-0134 Privacy day - Image

January 28 is Data Privacy Day. Officially launched in 2008 by the National Cyber Security Alliance, this day is an international effort to initiate dialogue and empower individuals and businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust.

With the majority of our lives lived online in 2020, privacy is top of mind for Canadians – particularly Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien. In a CBC article covering his annual report, Therrien cautions about the accelerating digitization of every area of our lives. The privacy implications are vast.

The pandemic has certainly created new privacy challenges. But which ones will be most pressing in 2021? To answer that question, we sat down with Pam Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer at TELUS, to get her perspectives on privacy in 2021 and what we can do to protect it.

Q: As we look ahead at 2021, what are the biggest privacy trends?

PS: As we know, more people are online since the onset of the pandemic. Statistics Canada released a Web Panel Survey in October 2020 detailing the growing online activity. Everything has increased – online spending, time on social media, messaging services, streaming. At the same time, 42% of Canadians reported experiencing at least one type of security incident since the start of the pandemic including phishing, malware, fraud or hacked accounts. The increase in cyber crime can be attributed directly to two things. First, we are living more of our daily lives online, so there are more attack vectors. Second, there are now a lot of inexperienced people online who lack a sophisticated understanding of security and privacy. Bad actors are consistently finding ways to take advantage of the situation, either by capitalizing on distraction or preying on people’s fears and anxieties about the pandemic. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians have lost $7 million to COVID-related fraud since March 2020.

Q: What privacy issues have arisen specific to COVID?

PS: We’re seeing people using tools that they may not have chosen otherwise. Typically, people may have spent time vetting certain tools (i.e. grocery ordering, financial applications) to determine whether they could trust them. But with our entire lives lived online, it’s too time consuming to do a thorough vetting for every single tool. Instead, we’ve adjusted our standards for acceptable level of risk. People just don't have time or mental space to be as vigilant minute to minute. So many end up sacrificing privacy for convenience and access to information.

Zoom is the most obvious example of increased uptake of a tool. With so many using Zoom, people feel pressure to use it and fear being left behind if they don’t. According to an article in Diginomica, Zoom has become the platform of choice for many businesses and individuals. At the end of December 2019, the maximum number of daily meeting participants on Zoom (free and paid) was approximately 10 million. By March 2020, that number had grown to 200 million. Encouragingly though, there are people who are paying attention to privacy and demanding better. WhatsApp announced a privacy policy update, which indicated broader data sharing with Facebook. There was a backlash. So much so that WhatsApp delayed the update, and alternative messaging platforms including Signal and Telegram saw significant uptake in the wake of the original WhatsApp announcement.

Q: What about how we’re currently living in society and the tools that have been created with public health in mind?

PS: There has been an arguably justifiable move toward more surveillance in society in the name of public health and citizen protection. Privacy has been curtailed in certain circumstances, and people are feeling that. Unfortunately, many people chose not to download the COVID Alert app as a result of generalized privacy concerns about tracking. But the government had been hyper aware and vigilant about making that app privacy protective. Canadians need to understand that the majority of these apps and technologies from trusted sources integrate data de-identification. De-identification is a process of altering data, so information can no longer be linked or traced to an identifiable individual. When done well, de-identification is effective in protecting our privacy.

Q: How will privacy play into return to work when that happens?

PS: There are areas where Canadians are concerned about privacy. Specifically, internal contact tracing apps, personal questionnaires, temperature taking and the collection of personal health information are all top of mind. In many cases, companies will require more information to keep people safe – who is in the building, where they are, when are they there. There has been a lot of discussion around balancing privacy rights with the need to keep people safe and healthy. And it’s a valid conversation. I think, or rather I know, there are opportunities to use technology to protect health without any privacy trade off. However, any organization looking to monitor access and behaviour, either through contact tracing or exposure notification, must build those technologies with privacy in mind.

Q: Can you talk about TELUS’ Data for Good program?

PS: TELUS Data for Good is an excellent example of using privacy-protective technology to solve problems related to health. We’ve invested several years in developing a privacy-protective data analytics platform to analyze mobility data in de-identified form. As soon as we realized what was happening in Canada in March of last year, we knew we had a moral obligation to make this data available to government, health authorities and academic researchers to support their efforts in flattening the curve and saving lives. We were adamant about being transparent, upfront and accountable. We developed clear principles around what we would and would not do and shared that with Canadians on our website. We consulted with privacy regulators for feedback and suggestions. When we launched the program, we were confident that we had built a privacy-respectful platform using de-identification, which was certified by Privacy by Design. I am a firm believer that you can enable innovation while still protecting privacy. Privacy doesn’t mean saying no to everything. You can invest in the ability to say yes and still protect privacy. I am proud to say the TELUS Data for Good program won the Privacy Innovation Award from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Q: What recommendations do you have for Canadians concerned about privacy in 2021?

PS: For people who will eventually be returning to work, health will be paramount. There will inevitably be measures put in place at your workplace to protect your health. Let employers know you also care about privacy. Ask questions about the data being collected, who can access it and how long it will be kept. In terms of tools you’re using, be as thoughtful as you can about the organizations you’re engaging with. Make sure they have reputational skin in the game and invest intentionally in privacy.

Cyber attacks will only continue to intensify. Because we are living so much of our lives online, it’s inevitable that we are distracted some of that time. Be alert. Phishing attempts are spiking dramatically. You can’t rely on terrible grammar anymore to discern a phishing email from a safe email. Bad actors are creating good, strong, effective and tailored phishing attacks. The general rule still applies. If something feels wrong, stop. Don’t proceed online until you’ve verified everything.

Q: Any final thoughts?

PS: It’s important to banish the fear of technology. There are proven benefits of leveraging data – and not at the cost of privacy. As Canadians, we should remain vigilant and demand privacy and transparency from organizations that have the privilege of interacting with us. Privacy matters to our personal security. It impacts our sense of self, and is indeed the very foundation of our democracy.

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Privacy & permissions
Identity theft
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