Imran Ahmad (CA)

Subscribe to all posts by Imran Ahmad (CA)

Building Cyber Resiliency In the Energy Sector

By Imran Ahmad (CA) and John Cassell (CA) on April 5, 2023 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Protection

For the energy sector, cybersecurity has been a top-of-mind issue for some time. This is particularly true given some of the high-profile cyber-attacks seen in recent years that have grabbed not only media headlines but also resulted in operational disruption, financial losses and legal exposure. The challenge with cybersecurity is attacker tactics are constantly evolving … Continue reading

Practical steps for businesses to comply with Bill C-27: part 2

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Shreya Gupta and Jeremie Wyatt (CA) on March 7, 2023 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Data Transfer, Intellectual Property, Privacy law

In our previous update, we summarized key operational elements that businesses should be aware of under the proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), and provided practical tips to help businesses comply with these new requirements. As currently drafted, the CPPA codifies a number of best practices and recommendations issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada … Continue reading

Autonomous Vehicles – Canada’s Current Legal Framework: Privacy (Part 4)

By Liana Di Giorgio (CA) and Imran Ahmad (CA) on February 23, 2023 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Privacy law

Across the globe, the race is already underway among vehicle manufacturers to develop fully autonomous vehicles (AVs). AVs currently under development make sense of their surroundings and control vehicle operation through data gathered about the outside world. Like other connected vehicles, AVs can also collect and use specific personal information about a driver (e.g., through … Continue reading

Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Application of Tort of Intrusion Upon Seclusion for Cyberattacks

By Travis Walker and Imran Ahmad (CA) on January 16, 2023 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data breach, Data Protection, Privacy law

In three recent cases, the Court of Appeal for Ontario effectively curtailed the ability of privacy breach victims to advance claims under the tort of intrusion upon seclusion against organizations for failing to prevent unauthorized access to personal information by third parties. However, while these cases should provide some reassurance that a cyberattack may not … Continue reading

Autonomous Vehicles – Canada’s Current Legal Framework: Liability in Motor Vehicle Accidents (Part 3)

By Suzie Suliman (CA) and Imran Ahmad (CA) on December 16, 2022 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Protection

As autonomous vehicle (AV) technology continues to grow in functionality and sophistication, it is only a matter of time before AVs become commercially available across Canada. The arrival of autonomous vehicles in Canada will raise a number of liability-related questions that touch on the areas of owner liability, product liability, and auto insurance. In this … Continue reading

Autonomous Vehicles – Canada’s Current Legal Framework: Cybersecurity Considerations (Part 2)

By Liana Di Giorgio (CA) and Imran Ahmad (CA) on November 22, 2022 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Protection

The emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Canada will present a number of cybersecurity challenges and risks. AV manufacturers will need to consider these risks and address them early in the design and development process of their products. In this post, we discuss some of the key cybersecurity risks associated with AVs, strategies to mitigate … Continue reading

OSFI’s Technology and Cyber Risk Management Guideline: Part 2

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Shreya Gupta and Suzie Suliman (CA) on October 17, 2022 Posted in Cybersecurity, Privacy law

In July of this year, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released the final version of its Guideline B-13 (the Guideline), setting out technology and cyber risk management expectations for all federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs), such as banks, insurance and trust companies. FRFIs will need to ensure that they have taken steps to … Continue reading

Autonomous Vehicles – Canada’s Current Legal Framework: A Primer (Part 1)

By Imran Ahmad (CA) and Liana Di Giorgio (CA) on October 5, 2022 Posted in Cybersecurity, Privacy law

In recent years, autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has undergone rapid development and it is predicted that AVs may soon be in a state to displace human driving altogether. In Ontario, the Automated Vehicle Pilot Program is currently in place to permit the testing of certain AVs by vehicle manufacturers. As AV technology continues to develop, however, … Continue reading

OSFI’s Technology and Cyber Risk Management Guideline: Part 1

By Suzie Suliman (CA), Shreya Gupta and Imran Ahmad (CA) on August 29, 2022 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Cybersecurity

On July 13, 2022, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released its final Guideline B-13 (the Guideline), setting out technology and cyber risk management expectations for all federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs), such as banks, insurance and trust companies. FRFIs will need ensure that they have taken steps to comply with the requirements … Continue reading

Practical steps for businesses to comply with Bill C-27: Part 1

By Jeremie Wyatt (CA), Imran Ahmad (CA) and Shreya Gupta on August 22, 2022 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Privacy law

The House of Commons recently introduced Bill C-27, the successor to Bill C-11, which died on the docket when Parliament was dissolved in the fall of 2021. Bill C-27 introduces three new acts: the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (“AIDA”), which … Continue reading

Alberta OIPC’s 2022 PIPA Breach Report – Trends and Key Takeaways

By John Cassell (CA), Imran Ahmad (CA) and Miranda Sharpe on August 16, 2022 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data breach

On July 27, 2022, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC) released its 2022 PIPA Breach Report.[1] The report analyzes the nearly 2,000 breach reports[2] received by the OIPC during the ten year period since reporting was mandated in Alberta under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)[3]. The PIPA Breach … Continue reading

Bill C-26: a first step at reinforcing Canadian cybersecurity

By Jeremie Wyatt (CA), Imran Ahmad (CA), John Cassell (CA), Tiana Corovic (CA), Roohie Sharma and Katarina Duke on June 22, 2022 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Cybersecurity

On June 14, the House of Commons introduced Bill C-26: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts (Bill C-26). This bill is presented in two parts: The first is to amend the Telecommunications Act to promote the security of the Canadian telecommunications system; The second is to enact the Critical Cyber … Continue reading

The aftermath of an incident – why keeping records of data breaches and privacy incidents matters

By Jeremie Wyatt (CA), Imran Ahmad (CA) and Sara A. Levine, QC (CA) on June 14, 2022 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Data breach, Regulatory response

As privacy incidents and security breaches involving personal information become increasingly frequent, organizations are more and more aware of the importance of implementing a robust privacy program to mitigate the risks and impacts of such incidents. While this preparation is important, organizations must also consider the aftermath of a privacy incident. In this first blog … Continue reading

Federal Privacy Commissioner Published Guidance on What Is “Sensitive” Personal Information

By Tiana Corovic (CA), Imran Ahmad (CA), John Cassell (CA), Katarina Duke and Roohie Sharma on May 18, 2022 Posted in PIPEDA, Privacy law

On May 16, 2022, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the “OPC”) released an Interpretation Bulletin (the “Bulletin”) on what it considers to be “sensitive” personal information under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). The Bulletin is meant to act as a consolidated guide based on jurisprudence, regulatory findings, … Continue reading

Privacy in a Parallel Digital Universe: The Metaverse

By Imran Ahmad (CA) and Tiana Corovic (CA) on January 25, 2022 Posted in General, Metaverse, PIPEDA, Privacy law

For many years, the immersive three-dimensional digital world has been left to the cinematic experience. However, the emergence of the metaverse presents an opportunity to translate everyday activities – working, attending a concert, travelling, shopping, socializing – into a parallel digital universe. The metaverse is an abstract concept that uses a digital environment to permeate … Continue reading

Where data meets IP – Derivative data in M&A transactions

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Nikita Stepin, Patrick Chou (CA) and Suzie Suliman (CA) on January 19, 2022 Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property

With the growth of the high-tech industry worldwide, it is no surprise that more and more transactions involve the transfer of rights to access or control data and derivative data. In our previous update we discussed protecting business data in a commercial context. In the M&A context, this valuable information is either the driving force of … Continue reading

Privacy legislation reform: Bill 64 has now been passed

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Veronique Barry (CA) and Jeremie Wyatt (CA) on November 17, 2021 Posted in Compliance and risk management, Cybersecurity, Privacy law

Bill 64, which purports to modernise Québec’s privacy legislation, was recently passed. This sweeping reform of the province’s framework for processing personal information hinges on three main axes: increased obligations for enterprises that collect or otherwise process personal information, the creation of new rights for persons whose information is collected, and the imposition of far … Continue reading

Where data meets IP – protecting business data in a commercial context

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Nikita Stepin, Patrick Chou (CA) and Suzie Suliman (CA) on October 18, 2021 Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property

In our previous publication, we discussed how a business’ data can be protected by characterizing it as intellectual property and protecting it as such. One of the most common ways to protect business data in a commercial context is through license agreements that impose contractual controls on the scope of protection of such data, as … Continue reading

Where Data Meets IP

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Nikita Stepin, Patrick Chou (CA) and Suzie Suliman (CA) on September 27, 2021 Posted in Data Transfer, General, Intellectual Property

How do you balance sharing and protecting your business’ data? Unlike tangible assets, which can be protected primarily through physical means, intangible assets such as data require additional considerations. One key strategy to protect your business’ data is to characterize, and protect, that data as intellectual property. Data as IP Copyright Original compilations of data … Continue reading

Ontario moves towards introducing new privacy law

By Imran Ahmad (CA) and Liana Di Giorgio (CA) on August 24, 2021 Posted in General, PHIPA, PIPEDA, Privacy law

Given global trends in the development of privacy laws and enforcement, Canada and several provinces are looking at modernizing their respective privacy regimes. Ontario’s new proposed privacy law, which would govern commercial activities more broadly than current legislation (i.e., our federal legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Ontario’s health privacy … Continue reading

Privacy commissioners take position on using facial recognition technology

By Imran Ahmad (CA), Sara A. Levine, QC (CA), Alexis Kerr (CA), Julie Himo (CA), Saba Samanian (CA) and John Cassell (CA) on March 11, 2021 Posted in Cybersecurity, Data breach

Investigative findings In a joint investigation report, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, together with the commissioners of BC, Alberta, and Quebec concluded that Clearview AI violated Canadians’ privacy rights under federal and provincial privacy laws by scraping billons of images of people available online to be continually used in what amounted to a virtual “police … Continue reading