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to go in or out from the facility walks through a little guard house, and they are liable to get searches. They are not allowed to take in certain instruments, cameras et cetera, and it doesn't happen here." The secure atmosphere is something that goes beyond the facilities all the way to the bargaining table. "Do your due diligence with who you are doing business with there," Handa says. "Then make sure you have got the appropriate contractual protections obligating them to take steps, don't be scared to put those in there, and be aggressive about them. You'll find that they are probably more easily met than you think." India's business process outsourcing industry is already taking steps to mini- mize the chances of misuse of data. A self-regulating organization has been created to establish, monitor, and enforce privacy and data protection standards. According to Chawla's report, and consistent with Handa's comments, business process outsourcing compa- nies have adopted some stringent secu- rity measures. They include armed guards, prohib- iting phone calls with friends or fami- lies while at workstations, closed-circuit monitoring of employees, and comput- ers in workstations having no printers or devices for removable storage. Still the best protection may be a good contract and systems to back up the contract provisions, says Ravi Shukla, counsel at Lang Michener LLP. Shukla specializes in structur- ing agreements relating to technology enterprises, technology development, licensing, and transfers. He says con- tracts should be developed with data protection in mind, regardless of the A Tradition of Business laws of the foreign country, and when extra protection is needed technology can play a role. "You have to buttress the legal pro- tections," he says. "You can't rely on Indian statutory protection, you bake it right into your contract, you audit right, and a lot of it has to do with tech- nical security standards and what we call a controlled environment." Some of those protections could include access. One of the methods is allowing companies abroad to dial-in to access information. However, the infor- mation cannot be rendered or trans- ferred in any way. Many of these protections would be arrived at with technology and the law being hand in glove, Shukla says. "You architect the solution and the systems in a way which are protective of the interests you are concerned about." IH Whether conducting business in Canada or abroad, Aird & Berlis LLP understands the realities of your work. Our clients benefit from the firm's solid relationships with major institutions, government authorities and renowned national and international law firm affiliates. We combine the depth and strength of Canada's largest firms with the creativity and effectiveness of smaller firms. Rely on us for practical legal counsel. Partnership. Results. Success.® Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street Suite 1800, Box 754 Toronto, ON M5J 2T9 Canada www.airdberlis.com 26 • AUGUST 2009 Untitled-1 1 INHOUSE Eldon Bennett Managing Partner ebennett@airdberlis.com 416.865.7704 6/26/09 11:57:09 AM