At TELUS, we work towards one single goal: making a better future for our next generations. We are constantly listening, learning, and changing our strategy towards creating a brighter future. In our day and age, connectivity through the internet has yielded tremendous growth and productivity opportunities. Although we want to celebrate this growth, we also need to be aware of the risks behind having an online presence.

On November 1st, 2018, Canada’s PIPEDA regulations came into effect. This new regulation will change privacy concerns for the betterment of all Canadian citizens as it forces companies to notify customers compromised by a data breach. Meaning, Canadian companies like us are legally required to establish and maintain a holistic view of the companies’ privacy policies and preventative measures.

Although we have already been practicing a transparent approach with our customers, here are some reminders on how to keep our privacy safe.

Our Promise to You and Your Family

At TELUS, we know privacy matters to you. As a customer, you are entrusting us with highly valuable personal information. We understand that corporations with big-data have increased risks around privacy. With that, we are committed to respecting your privacy by being transparent with you about the ways we protect your privacy.

As part of our commitment to keeping our customers safe, we intend to implement increased training programs for all our employees that encompass the ideas of data security, online phishing, and how to react if a cyber incident occurs. We will never want to jeopardize your privacy, but we are prepared for action if anything suspicious does occur.

TELUS members will never ask for your log-in password, send unsolicited emails, or send unsolicited requests to download software. We will never ask for your personal information unless necessary.

Keeping Our Families Safe

If we take a look back 10 years ago, thinking about cybersecurity meant downloading a strong antivirus software for our big, hefty desktop computers. Computer owners would occasionally scan their entire computers for any viruses, which meant the computer would slow down and lose efficiency.

With the accelerated introduction of laptops, smartphones, smartwatches, and other smart gear, keeping just the hardware safe is not enough. It’s crazy to think that these innovative products that promised to be an asset to our everyday lives can also turn into a liability in an instant.

Recent study from Redar metadata indicates that over 80% of data breaches occur because of unintentional actions. This means that it is up to both you and I to make sure we are protecting your privacy in the best way we can.

Source: Txmx 2

Here are three ways you can protect your private information:

1. Using a Secured Wi-Fi Network- Public Wi-Fi can make your information accessible to cyber threats because most free Wi-Fi networks aren’t secured. Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks to access sensitive information (e.g. Bank Accounts) as much as possible
2. Creating Strong Passwords – Passwords can make or break your personal privacy. Effective password management is crucial, especially when the account holds banking and other personal information. This is why we recommend all customers use different passwords for all different accounts. To further prevent password sharing or risk of exploitation, you can also change your password every 6 months.
3. Regularly Back Up Data – While it’s important to set up as many preventative measures to strengthen the shield against any incidents, it is equally important to assume the worst-case scenario. By regularly backing up valuable data, you will be able to restore the files you saved. To ensure that you have the latest data you need, make sure you set up weekly or daily automated backups depending on how quick your files change.

We believe that TELUS is only as strong as its communities. It is up to us to protect each other. Together, we can take action.