DATA MUST BE SECURE
It’s easy to find supporting evidence for privacy commissioner Ron Kruzeniski’s call for a “culture of caution” when it comes to the provincial government’s handling of information in the digital space.
Just look south. In Washington on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate’s investigation hearing into Russia’s efforts to hack voting systems quickly heard chilling testimony from former Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson.
“In 2016 the Russian government, at the direction of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin himself, orchestrated cyberattacks on our nation for the purpose of influencing our election — plain and simple. Now, the key question for the president and Congress is: What are we going to do to protect the American people and their democracy?” Johnson said.
The province of Saskatchewan faces the same question, even if the level of international threat and interest is not the same.
Government in Saskatchewan needs to embrace technology and get a firm hand on how it should be used properly. Some health and social services records are still not digitized in the province, something that would be sure to help the public get better service. Technological sophistication — including training in proper security and handling of data — needs to be the hallmark of any modern government.
In tabling his office’s 2016-17 report, Kruzeniski warns, “from the stories around the world, the breaches, the damage to reputation and the costs to remedy a breach, there is no doubt that public bodies will be required to spend much more to safeguard the information they have collected from their citizens.”
He recommends the legislative assembly consider a stand-alone act dealing with data matching, a suggestion that should be followed up quickly by the Wall government.
It is also important that digital information that should be part of the public record is not erased or located on private or inaccessible servers. Esteemed Saskatchewan historian Bill Waiser made elegant arguments about this in an op-ed piece last week.
“Unless something is done — and soon — we stand to lose critically valuable, born-digital documentary heritage. That’s why Premier Wall’s government email matters. It not only needs to be preserved, but accessible for decades to come. Otherwise, if these and other kinds of digital records are lost, we are on the cusp of a new dark age. And history and accountability will be big losers.”
An investment in education, proper systems and effective legislation is needed very soon to address these issues ushered in by the fastchanging digital world.