Terms and conditions

From: Communications Security Establishment Canada

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Privacy notice for CSE’s websites

In all instances described below, reference to CSE’s websites can include the English and French-language versions of:

The Government of Canada and the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) are committed to providing visitors with websites that respect their privacy. While using any of the CSE websites, you may be directed to tools or activities that are housed on the canada.ca platform, such as surveys or published news items. In those instances, the Privacy notice for canada.ca would apply.

For other browsing you do on CSE’s websites, the canada.ca Privacy notice is applicable, with the following exceptions:

Web analytics

CSE conducts web analytics activities to determine how our sites can be improved to better serve Canadians and other visitors. CSE uses a third-party application, named Matomo, that is not used by the canada.ca platform for the collection of certain types of information to perform web analytics activities.

For the purpose of performing web analytics, CSE tracks certain types of information during visits to its websites. For the purposes of the Privacy Act, this information is treated as personal informationFootnote 1. When your computer or other device requests a CSE web page, information is collected for the purpose of web analytics. The type of information collected includes, but is not limited to the:

  • IP address of the device that has contacted the CSE website (which is not stored or retained in a format that can be used to identify a visitor)
  • type of browser used
  • type of operating system used
  • the date and time of the visit
  • pages visited and documents downloaded

To further protect information about visitors to our websites, CSE uses a feature from each service provider that hides part or all of the IP address of a visitor before it is stored.

We do not use digital markers, also known as cookies, on the CSE websites. However, some of the external apps and portals that are linked from our websites must collect and store select information that you and your system provide in order to operate correctly. If you change your browser settings to refuse cookies or disable JavaScript, no information will be collected, but your visit may be affected in other ways and some functionality might be disabled.

CSE may also use the personal information collected for non-administrative uses, such as communications and information technology statistics, audit and evaluations, content personalization and testing, research, planning, and reporting. This personal information is not used for decision making processes about an individual or to profile individual visitors to any of CSE’s websites.

Data collected for web analytics purposes is stored by CSE (and subject to Government of Canada data retention policies), and not on external servers. However, for some of the external apps and portals that are linked from our websites, data is stored on servers hosted by Microsoft in Canada. Additionally, certain elements of the authentication system within the My Cyber Portal app are hosted by Microsoft in the United States. You can read more about the use of cookies for the base platform used by My Cyber Portal here. Information collected by an external app or portal and stored on external servicers will be subject to the data retention and privacy policies of the applicable third party.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns or complaints about the activities of CSE in administering its website as they relate to the Privacy Act, you can contact the CSE’s Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator.

Security

CSE employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

Providing content in Canada’s official languages

The Official Languages Act, the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations and Treasury Board policy requirements establish when we use both English and French to provide services to or communicate with members of the public. When there is no obligation to provide information in both official languages, content may be available in one official language only. Information provided by organizations not subject to the Official Languages Act is in the language(s) provided. Information provided in a language other than English or French is only for the convenience of our visitors.

Linking to non-CSE websites

Links to websites not under the control of the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), including those to our social media accounts, are provided solely for the convenience of our website visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of the content of such websites. CSE does not offer any guarantee in that regard, is not responsible for the information found through these links, and does not endorse the sites and their content.

Visitors should also be aware that information offered by non-CSE sites to which this website links is not subject to the Privacy Act or the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. With respect to privacy, visitors should research the privacy policies of these non-government websites before providing personal information.

Using files located on non-Government of Canada servers

To improve the functionality of Government of Canada websites, certain files (such as open source libraries, images and scripts) may be delivered automatically to your browser via a trusted third-party server or content delivery network. The delivery of these files is intended to provide a seamless user experience by speeding response times and avoiding the need for each visitor to download these files. Where applicable, specific privacy statements covering these files are included in our Privacy Notice.

Ownership and usage of content provided on this site

The material available on our websites is covered by the provision of the Copyright Act, by Canadian laws, policies, regulations and international agreements. Such provisions serve to identify the information source and, in specific instances, to prohibit reproduction of materials without written permission.

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled for the purpose of providing Canadians with access to information about the programs and services offered by CSE. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:

Trade-marks / Copyright / Permission to reproduce

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

The name "Communications Security Establishment Canada" and graphics displayed on the CSE web sites may not be used, in whole or in part, in connection with a business or with any product or service or in any manner that is likely to lead to the belief that the service, or the posting in association with which it is used, has received government approval, endorsement or authority. CSE’s name and graphics on its websites may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without prior written permission of CSE.

Communications Security Establishment Canada
PO Box 9703, Terminal Ottawa, ON
K1G 3Z4
Email: media@cse-cst.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-991-7248

Non-commercial reproduction

Information on this site, other than government symbols and other graphics, has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from CSE. We ask only that:

  • users exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced
  • CSE be identified as the source; and
  • the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made, in affiliation with or with the endorsement of CSE

Commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on these sites, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission of the CSE. To obtain permission to reproduce any content owned by CSE available on this site for commercial purposes, please contact us. Non-Canadian requests for copyright reproduction are generally not permitted.

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by CSE or the Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s).

Our commitment to accessibility

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility as defined in the Standard on Web Accessibility and the Standard on Optimizing Websites and Applications for Mobile Devices. In the event of difficulty using our web pages, applications, or device-based mobile applications, contact us for assistance or to obtain alternative formats such as regular print, Braille or another appropriate format.

Interacting with us on social media

This notice has been written to explain how CSE interacts with the public on social media platforms.

Content and frequency

CSE uses social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing the content posted on our website and interacting with Canadians and our stakeholders. By following CSE social media accounts (by "following," "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about the programs and services we provide.

We understand that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and responded to as appropriate, and as soon as possible.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to other websites and ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. Neither CSE nor the Government of Canada is responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Following, "Favouriting" and Subscribing

Our decision to "follow," "favourite" or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

Comments and interaction

We will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We will not engage in partisan or political issues or respond to questions that violate these Terms and Conditions. We reserve the right to edit or remove comments, and to block users, based on the following criteria:

  • include personal information
  • include protected or classified information of the Government of Canada
  • infringe upon intellectual property or proprietary rights
  • are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
  • are contrary to any federal, provincial or territorial laws of Canada
  • express racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting, discriminatory or life-threatening messages
  • put forward serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations
  • are aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene or pornographic
  • are offensive, rude or abusive to an individual or an organization
  • are not sent by the author or are put forward for advertising purposes
  • encourage illegal activity
  • contain announcements from labour or political organizations
  • are written in a language other than English or French
  • are unintelligible or irrelevant
  • are repetitive or spam
  • do not, in our opinion, add to the normal flow of the discussion

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views of users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of CSE or the Government of Canada.

Accessibility of social media platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by Government of Canada standards for Web accessibility.

If you have difficulty accessing content on our social media accounts, please contact us and we will try to solve the problem or provide you with the information in a different format.

Copyright

Information that we post on our social media channels is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada websites and represent only CSE’s presence on third-party service providers.

Visitors should research the privacy policies of the social media platforms before providing personal information.

Official languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your language preferences. The Government of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information of is available in both French and English and that both versions are equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of general public interest, we may respond in both official languages.

We may share links that direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and available only in the language(s) in which they are written. When content is available in only one language, we make an effort to provide similar content in the other official language.

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