Do you know your security obligations?
October 19, 2023 – Defence Stories
All information belonging to the Government of Canada must be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure as per the following legislation, orders and directives outlined in the infographic below.
Infographic – Text version
Security of information obligations
Those who have/had access to Government of Canada (GC) information as part of their official duties have an obligation to safeguard that information and not disclose it to unauthorized individuals under any circumstances.
All information belonging to the GC must be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure as per the following legislation, orders and directives:
- The Security of Information Act (SOIA) creates criminal offences relating to the unauthorized disclosure of information that the Government of Canada is taking measures to safeguard. All individuals may be subject to criminal prosecution under SOIA, including DND employees and CAF members, even after their release or termination of employment.
- The National Defence Act (NDA) contains the Code of Service Discipline (CSD) which provides offences related to the security of information (e.g., Section 75). The CSD applies to serving CAF members, and retired CAF members if the offence occurred while they were serving members, as well as applying to civilians in certain circumstances.
- DAOD 2006-1 provides direction to DND employees and CAF members for the proper safeguarding and authorized disclosure of information in the DND and the CAF. All types of information in the DND and the CAF must be appropriately protected from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, transmission, disposal or destruction throughout its lifecycle. This direction is applicable to all forms of information including unclassified information.
- National Defence Security Orders and Directives (NDSOD) Chapter 6 and Standard 6, provide detailed instructions on all aspects of security of information, including authorized disclosure procedures.
For more information
Email
The point of contact for this issue is: DND.DGDSPolicies-DGDPolitiques.MDN@forces.gc.ca
