Make June Anti-Spam Compliance Month

Canadian small businesses may qualify for $1000 discount ahead of looming CASL deadline

TORONTO, May 30, 2014  /CNW/ - By July 1st, Canada's 1.1 million businesses will need to have proof of voluntary opt-in for every recipient on their email lists or risk facing eventual penalties up to $10 million. But according to security experts, that's the easy part.

"The challenge is to ensure that your systems adequately protect recipient data and your software can be trusted to send the right emails to the right people" said Claudiu Popa, Informatica security CEO and author of the Verify CASL Self-Assessment, a 20-question quiz available from Amazon.ca that includes a complimentary consultation with a security expert.

Popa recommends a professional audit of IT functions and systems to determine if technical compliance is required. Until July 1st, 2014, Informatica is offering Canadian businesses a $1000 discount on Verify Anti-Spam™, its standardized CASL technical assessment. The acclaimed, independent audit includes key areas most businesses would not otherwise review, including:

• Third-party service providers and employees with access to contact lists
• Any software with Internet access and the ability to use electronic messaging
• Communications that include plug-ins, patches or any executable code at all

Although the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL or Bill C-28) does not require some elements of compliance to be in place until 2015, companies must implement safeguards to prevent expensive malicious breaches and damaging accidental exposure.

"CASL's unprecedented aggressiveness may take businesses by surprise. Establish anti-spam compliance clauses in your privacy and security policies to prevent email harvesting and unauthorized commercial electronic messaging (CEM)" said Popa, author of multiple books on security and privacy.

Informatica's Verify Anti-Spam™ assessment takes less than a week to complete and is available from the company's website.

About the company:

Established in 1989, Informatica is Canada's first security assurance-as-a-service company, specializing in standards-based, independent privacy and security vulnerability assessments and information technology audits.

Informatica's assessment process is widely recognized for auditable verification of systems, policies and applications. Savvy organizations use the Verify™ seal and Statement of Trust™ to demonstrate compliance, integrity and excellence.

Reviews/pre-audit assessments for PIPEDA, PHIPA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27000/31000,  Bill198 conducted by certified security professionals and Risk Advisors.

SOURCE: Informatica Security Corporation

Media Information: Claudiu Popa, CEO/Principal Risk Advisor, [email protected], Twitter:@datarisk, www.SecurityandPrivacy.ca, 416-431-9012x111, 1 Yonge St. Toronto, Canada