91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

2 students sitting down together in front of a laptop

Protect websites and users' data

91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Why is this important?

Visitors need to be confident our sites are secure and their privacy is protected.

Legislation and policy

91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ staff are subject to Quebec and Canadian laws and 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s policies concerning information security and maintaining the confidentiality of personal information.

In addition, anyone who processes, transmits or stores credit cards information in an unsecure and unauthorized manner may be found in violation of financial confidentiality laws and expose themselves to legal liability. If you need to collect payment, please get in touch with Financial Services.

Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal Academic, describes the responsibility of all academics to uphold 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's information security

Visit 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s cybersecurity websiteÌýSecure your journeyÌýfor additional tools and resources.

Checklist of things to do

  • Create secure webpages and webforms that properly protect users' personal data (e.g. use secure formats and platforms like https, adhere to recommendations for building secure webforms)
  • Don't display or email people's confidential information (unless it's using 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's official email).
    • Don't identify student names without their written consent, e.g. on Research web pages, do not list student participants.
  • Don't share sensitive or restricted data on unauthorized generative AI tools.
    • Microsoft Copilot is currently the only authorized generative AI tool at 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ. Refer to the to learn what is acceptable and not acceptable to enter into a prompt.
  • If you become aware of unsafe practices or vulnerabilities, .
  • Keep web systems and tools up to date.
  • Ensure your site has a designated sponsor/asset steward.
  • Delete/decommission websites when they become inactive and/or are no longer of value.
  • Update website access permissions accordingly when your web team members change roles, leave your department or leave the university.
  • Use 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ usernames and passwords for authentication on 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ websites and systems (where possible).
    • If authentication is required on 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ websites, it should be performed using one of our preferred Single Sign On (SSO) methods, such as SAML, Ìýwith 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s central identity provider.
  • Limit data collection for analytics and user research to interactions around links, buttons and page elements only.
  • If linking to information in a cloud service, adhere to instructions in 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Cloud Directive which describes when and where you can process, transmit and storeÌý91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ data

Supporting resources

How to create secure webforms

Ìý


Privacy and security policies and guidelines

91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ policies and guidelines site owners and managers should be aware of.

Ìý
Back to top