To protect the privacy of others when handling their personal information at work, keep in mind how you communicate and handle your workspace. Here are some practical ways to protect your and others' privacy.
A few practical ways to protect privacy when communicating via email include:
- Use UFV email addresses for UFV business
- Triple check email addresses to ensure you send your emails to the appropriate recipient/s
- Avoid recording sensitive or inappropriate comments as it could be released
- Blind copy multiple recipients, so you are not sharing personal information
- Careful of autofill when typing a recipient’s email
Work space
In your work space, you can protect others’ privacy by doing the following:
- Turn over documents and files on your desk
- Lock your computer screen when you leave your desk
- Lock your office door when you step away from your office; or, lock the door to your collective space when you are the last person to leave
- Lock personal information in filing cabinets
- Don’t save class lists, grades, attendance sheets on USBs or portable devices (encrypt)
General guidelines
When handling others’ personal information, always keep in mind the following:
- Treat other’s personal information as if it were your own.
- Always act in good faith and provide due diligence
- Ensure proper departmental procedures are in place to protect personal info
- Educate others in your team
- Permit and remove access
- Ask if you are uncertain or don’t understand