Is my Australian data safe?
For many of us, data security and the privacy concerns that accompany it have sure become a hot topic!
As a Volunteer Manager, you likely didn’t sign up for this—nor are you likely a ‘subject matter expert’ on the topic.
- So, where do you begin?
- How do you navigate the maze of techno and legal jargon around this?
- And most importantly, is your data safe?
At Better Impact, we advocate for transparency around these topics and work hard to help you understand your responsibilities in relation to this very important part of your work.
So, let’s dive in.
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Data Storage – Country
All our data is currently stored securely on servers located in Ontario, Canada. We know from the questions we receive that overseas hosting can be a concern for some, but we want to allay those fears and assure you that our hosting regimes meet world standards and are specifically not subject to any US laws or regulations.
Let’s examine Canada as a destination.
When the European Union instigated their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws in 2018 (still arguably considered the toughest privacy laws in the world), they examined the topic of offshore hosting and determined there were twelve countries where it was deemed ‘safe’ to store your data.
This decision was based on many factors including the local laws of the host country, especially in relation to important matters like government access to private records.
Canada made that list, as did New Zealand.
Interestingly, Australia did not!
So don’t be fooled by thinking that just because your data is to be stored in Australia that it is necessarily safer than data stored overseas – and vice versa. Due diligence is required no matter the storage location.
We meet both Australian and International Standards
Our data is stored and protected to the highest possible standards.
And that’s not just us saying that – we have the evidence!
At Better Impact we proudly boast ISO 27001 and 27017 international certifications – which in simple terms means that we have been (and continue to be) independently audited against a range of stringent internationally recognised criteria that illustrates we take no shortcuts with your data!
On top of that, we are proud to say we’ve not had any data breaches at any time in our company history, which dates back to 2001.
Importantly, in Australia, we also meet all the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which form the cornerstone of privacy protection in the Australian Privacy Act of 1988.
You can learn more about how we meet these by referring to Page 21 of this document:
www.betterimpact.com.au/TPB
Data Storage – The Facility
Aside from location, there are a range of other important factors to consider when understanding how your data will be safely secured.
For instance: what are the back-up protocols, is your data stored at more than one physical location (in case one burns down!), how is the facility at which your data is stored able to be physically accessed, what ongoing security maintenance occurs at this location, and is any data encrypted both at rest and in transit?
Much of this information might be better understood by technical people in your team, and so we have prepared a comprehensive document (linked below) to outline these elements as they apply to Better Impact for your easy download and reference.
Want to take a deeper dive?
This article is designed to be a quick overview of some of the key elements you might want a quick answer to – but if you’d like to develop an even greater understanding of this topic, we’ve also written a much longer and more comprehensive article on this, which was published in the ENGAGE volunteer management journal in 2023.
You can access that full article at:
blog.betterimpact.com/en/a-volunteer-leaders-guide-to-data-privacy-and-security
Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have.
