Increase In Privacy Breaches Results In New Business Tool

Increase In Privacy Breaches Results In New Business Tool

The increasing number of privacy breaches has seen a Wellington company create a new interactive tool for businesses and organisations to teach their staff about their privacy obligations.

The comprehensive training guide outlines, via both individual and group sessions, how employees should correctly handle personal information.

“It seems like every day there’s another news story about a serious privacy breach and they’re happening right across the board – from major government departments to local bodies to private companies,” says Paul Gurney, spokesperson for Educational Resources Ltd, which created the new Guide To Privacy kit.

“Privacy is not only a compliance issue, it’s a major customer service issue too. In a 2006 New Zealand by UMR Research, 93% of respondents said it was important for businesses to protect and respect their personal information.”

“Many said the way an organisation handled their personal information was a key consideration in deciding whether to deal with that business or not.”

Gurney says it’s important for employers to be aware if their staff breach the Privacy Act, they are responsible. “However, you do have a defence if you have taken practical steps to ensure your organisation and staff are up to speed with the Act.”

The Guide To Privacy brings everyday privacy issues to life through a series of dramatized scenarios that walk employees through the correct way to handle various situations.

“We want to get people to understand the importance of privacy compliance to their organisation and the detrimental impact a breach can have.Too often organisations only react after a breach has happened by which time the damage has been done.

“We were really surprised by how few frontline staff knew who their privacy officer was and indeed how many large organisations didn’t even have a privacy officer.”

Gurney says the Guide To Privacy has a sliding pricing scale based on the size of an employer so it’s a very cost efficient way to teach staff about privacy requirements.

For employers with up to 19 staff, the Guide To Privacy costs just $295 rising to a maximum of $1,295 for organisations with 500 or more employees.

“This is a one-off cost and gives them unlimited use of the Guide,” says Gurney.

The award-winning Educational Resources Ltd developed the Guide with New Zealand’s top legal privacy experts and experienced privacy officers, including specialist privacy lawyer John Edwards in Wellington.

ENDS

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