The Canadian government has provided a concise checklist for responding to a privacy breach. Though all steps should be taken to prevent data breach incidents, there is an uncontrollable element to data security. Therefore, it is prudent to have a set of protocols on what to do if a data breach does occur.

The checklist begins with an incident awareness check: when was it, where was it, how was it discovered, what caused it, and who does it affect?

There is a step by step checklist provided which goes into detail on the following:

1. Breach Containment and Preliminary Assessment
2. Evaluate the Risks Associated with the Breach
3. Notification
4. Prevention of Future Breaches

Read the full details here. A similar, though less detailed, checklist is also provided by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) here.

Tags: data breach, privacy breach, data breach management, breach management, business security, data security, it security, data breach notification