Government Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) and privacy in Ontario

Over the past ten years, web enabled technology has been the catalyst to enhanced Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) delivery. ESD has conveniently reduced the cost to governments and at the same time benefited Ontarians by providing convenient access to services. There remains a concern that the use of web technology increases one's risk to breach of privacy. A privacy breach, where information may be improperly released, can be catastrophic to an individual's identify and to the government's image of trust. The purpose of this report is to review critical web based defences designed by the government to fend off web attacks that may threaten the privacy of Ontarians while accessing government services through a web environment. This is followed by a discussion on strategies users can deploy in order to ensure they protect their own privacy.