Introduction
Synomos believes in the importance of respecting and protecting your privacy. This policy reflects our commitment to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements and to demonstrate world leadership in privacy and data protection.
At Synomos we hold our products, operations and our people to the highest standards of privacy and protection of personal data. We strive to exceed all legal and regulatory requirements respecting the privacy and protection of personal data. Because we are headquartered in Montreal, Canada, we comply with the requirements set out in Quebec’s provincial Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
Scope and Application
This document discloses our information handling practices for the Synomos website and is intended to provide you with a complete and accurate basis for making informed decisions when choosing to communicate with our Synomos website.
Synomos Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc. and conforms to its privacy policies. You may view Zero-Knowledge’s privacy policy at http://www.zeroknowledge.com/en/policy.php
In this document, "Personal information" means information about an identifiable individual; i.e., any information that relates to a natural person or allows that person to be identified.
The major custodians of personal information at Synomos are customer support, human resources department, accounting department, information services, technical operations and marketing. Throughout the company, all employees are responsible to adhere to these administrative procedures, and to the principles of the Policy.
When we collect personal information
Synomos does not collect personal information about website visitors and customers without their consent. In cases when such information is requested for us to provide a service, visitors are prompted to provide the minimum amount of information necessary. Typically, personal information is collected:
- to allow us to respond to inquiries and requests, including technical support
- to allow us to maintain and improve our website and services
- when submitting résumés to our jobs site
Use of server logs and cookies
Server logs:
Our servers may automatically log information about visits to our websites in the normal course of establishing and maintaining web connections. Server logs may record statistical information such as visitors' IP addresses, type of operating systems, time of visit, web pages requested, etc., and identify categories of visitors by items such as domains and browser types. These usage statistics are reported in the aggregate to our Synomos web and marketing department staff, and are used to improve our websites. Raw server logs are kept only as long as necessary for security purposes, and are purged on a regular basis. We do not link server log information to any other data in such a way as to identify individual visitors.
Cookies:
Synomos takes your concerns about cookies and privacy seriously. When cookies are used, Information collected from them will never be shared with third parties unless you explicitly agree to this. Our websites may use the following types of cookies:
- Session cookie
A limited-duration session cookie may be used to allow our servers to maintain your connection and privileges from one web page or moment to the next. Session cookies expire upon browser shutdown. No personal information is collected with this method.
- Persistent cookie for anonymous tracking
We may use persistent cookies to anonymously track unique and repeat visits to our website. This permits us to generate aggregate information on how visitors interact with our website. That information is used to improve our website and your browsing experience.
How is your personal information used?
Synomos will not disclose your personal information to third parties without your informed consent or direction. Your personal information is used by Synomos staff only for the purpose stated at the time it is collected. It is accessed by Synomos employees only on a need-to-know basis. Your personal data is never used for unrelated purposes unless otherwise requested or explicitly agreed by you.
Informed consent is sought:
- to deliver materials requested by a visitor (e.g. with the post office)
- to follow-up job applications and résumés (e.g. to check references)
Communication without consent could occur in the following circumstances:
- where required by law, e.g. through subpoena, warrant or other legal process;
- to collect bad debts or other similar lawful purposes.
Job applications:
When you apply for a job through our website, you are providing personal information related to the job application procedure, including in many instances a copy of your résumé. Your personal information is shared only with the hiring manager and relevant Synomos staff members on a need-to-know basis.
Technical support:
When you request technical support, you may be asked to provide sensitive information about your computer and network configuration. Our technical support staff is trained to record only the information necessary to respond to your concerns and provide you with a solution. Any information recorded during this process is held strictly confidential and is only accessible to authorized customer support employees.
How long we keep your personal information
Most personal information we receive via our website is either not retained or is stored in aggregated (anonymized) form for statistical record-keeping purposes.
Contact information provided by web visitors is kept as long as this information is needed to completely service the contact request. Mailing list information and email addresses are kept for only the period of time needed to facilitate the visitor's requests.
Résumés are disposed of when they are no longer under consideration by our Human Resources Department, usually after six months from date of receipt.
Links to third-party sites
The Synomos website provides a number of links to third-party sites, such as news sites and other security and privacy information resources. To the extent possible, we try to clearly distinguish external from internal hyperlinks, and to only provide links to third-party websites that have, at a minimum, a posted privacy policy. Nonetheless, we assume no responsibility for the information practices of websites a user is able to access through ours, and strongly encourage all web visitors to review the privacy policies and statements of all externally-linked websites.
Can I change or delete the information later?
Synomos is committed to providing reasonable and practical access to individuals to allow them the opportunity to identify and correct any inaccuracies. When requested and where possible, Synomos will correct or delete your personal information from current operational systems. However, it should be noted that to avoid fraud and mischief, proof of identity may be required in order to fulfill some personal information access and deletion requests.
When personal information is retained, Synomos deploys its best reasonable efforts to keep an accurate record of the information once an individual has submitted and verified the data. Synomos does not assume responsibility for verifying the ongoing accuracy of the content of personal information unless that information is being used in a decision process that may affect the data subject in a material way.
What security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under our control?
Synomos has implemented high standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal information under our control from any unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, loss or destruction. Our security practices include, for example, use of firewalls, strong encryption, and access controls.
All Synomos employees follow a company-wide security policy, which is reviewed on a regular basis. Only authorized personnel are provided access to security programs. All employees have agreed to ensure confidentiality of personal information that they may access when performing their work.
Changes to this website privacy policy
Synomos reserves the right to modify or amend this Policy at any time. We will review it, in particular, when required by updates to our website, or following changes in legislation or in jurisprudence. In order to keep visitors informed, Synomos will ensure that users are notified of changes to our Website Privacy Policy by identifying the effective date at the end of this document.
Effective March 26, 2004
This is the first version of the Synomos Website Privacy Policy.
