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Framework

PIPEDA names no technology. It names a standard.

PIPEDA is the federal private-sector privacy law that applies to most Canadian commercial activity. Its security obligation is Principle 7, Safeguards.

Like PHIPA, it is written as a standard rather than a checklist, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is explicit that the law does not specify which safeguards you must use.

What Principle 7 requires

The OPC states the obligation as protecting personal information in a way that is appropriate to how sensitive it is, and protecting all personal information regardless of how it is stored against loss, theft, or any unauthorized access.

Three categories of safeguard are named: physical measures such as locked cabinets and restricted offices; technological tools such as passwords, encryption, firewalls and security patches; and organizational controls such as security clearances, limiting access, staff training and agreements. The OPC also states plainly that PIPEDA does not specify particular security safeguards that must be used.

"Appropriate to how sensitive it is" does the real work

This is the sentence that scales the obligation to your business. A mailing list and a database of financial or health records are not owed the same protection, and the same control can be adequate in one system and negligent in another.

It also means you cannot answer the question by naming tools. Whether your safeguards are appropriate depends on what you hold, so the defensible position is a documented assessment of the data and the controls protecting it, revisited when either changes.

Technological safeguards are the testable ones

Physical and organizational safeguards are audited by inspection and interview. Technological safeguards are the category you can actually test, and testing is the only way to know whether the control you configured is the control you have.

Security patches are listed as a technological safeguard, which is a useful detail: a missing patch on a system holding personal information is not merely a hygiene issue, it is a gap against a named example in the Principle.

Where PIPEDA ends and other obligations begin

PIPEDA is federal and private-sector. Ontario health information custodians are governed by PHIPA for personal health information. Some provinces have their own substantially similar private-sector laws, and public bodies are covered by separate legislation.

If you operate in Ontario and hold health data, assume both PIPEDA and PHIPA are in play depending on the information, and get advice on which applies to which dataset. That determination is legal advice and CyberArc does not provide it.

Questions

What does PIPEDA require for data security?
PIPEDA Principle 7 requires organizations to protect personal information in a way appropriate to its sensitivity, and to protect all personal information regardless of storage format against loss, theft or unauthorized access. It names physical, technological and organizational safeguards as the three categories.
Does PIPEDA require penetration testing?
No. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada states that PIPEDA does not specify particular security safeguards that must be used. The obligation is that safeguards be appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, which for sensitive data is difficult to evidence without testing.
Does PIPEDA apply to my business?
PIPEDA applies to most private-sector organizations collecting, using or disclosing personal information in the course of commercial activity in Canada, with exceptions where a province has substantially similar legislation. Which law applies to which dataset is a legal determination; CyberArc does not provide legal advice.

Sources

Standards and legislation are quoted from the sources above and change over time. Read the primary source before relying on it. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

Next step

Start with a scoping call.

Tell us what you need tested. Before any testing begins, the scope is written down and the agreement and rules of engagement are signed.

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