November 30, 2006

19 Annual FIRST Conference


19th Annual FIRST Conference
in Seville, Spain, June 17-22, 2007
Sponsored by FIRST
  • How privacy breaches most commonly occur – and security measures you can take to lessen the risks
  • What to do if a privacy breach does occur: guidelines for Incident Response Teams
  • How to communicate to stakeholders and the public to minimise damage to reputation and credibility after a privacy breach
  • Orwell’s “1984” – Past history or present tension? The challenges to individual liberties that are now unfolding as we grapple with big brothers around the globe.

November 29, 2006

Privacy International and EPIC launch Privacy and Human Rights global study



Source Text Privacy International

Each year since 1997, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Privacy International have undertaken what has now become the most comprehensive survey of global privacy ever published. The Privacy & Human Rights Report surveys developments in 70 countries, assessing the state of technology, surveillance and privacy protection.

The most recent report published in 2006 is probably the most comprehensive single volume report published in the human rights field. The report runs to almost 1,200 pages and includes about 6,000 footnotes. More than 200 experts from around the world have provided materials and commentary. The participants range from law students studying privacy to high-level officials charged with safeguarding constitutional freedoms in their countries. Academics, human rights advocates, journalists and researchers provided reports, insight, documents and advice.

This year Privacy International took the decision to use the report as the basis for a ranking assessment of the state of privacy in all EU countries together with eleven benchmark countries. This project was first considered in 1998 but was postponed pending availability of adequate data. We now have the full spectrum of information at our disposal and we hope to publish the rankings on an annual basis.

Key Links

Privacy and Human Rights 2005.

Ratings Table of EU and Leading Surveillance Societies (JPG) .

Briefing paper on the ratings table (PDF).

November 28, 2006

Towards FP7: Privacy issues


The Framework Programmes (FPs) have been the main financial tools through which the European Union supports research and development activities covering almost all scientific disciplines

FPs have been implemented since 1984 and cover a period of five years with the last year of one FP and the first year of the following FP overlapping. The current FP is FP6, which will be running up to the end of 2006. It has been proposed for FP7, however, to run for seven years.

Two of the specific programmes are:

ICT - Information and Communication Technologies

The draft Work Programme for ICT research in FP7 in 2007 and 2008 is now available online

Security


Source text: DRAFT WORK PROGRAMME 2007-08 EUROPEAN COMMISSION (7th Framework)


d) Identity management and privacy enhancing tools with configurable, contextdependent and user-controlled attributes in static and dynamically changing environments; trust policies for managing and assessing the risks associated to identity and private data.

e) Longer term visions and research roadmaps; metrics and benchmarks for comparative evaluation and open technology competitions, in support of certification and standardisation; international cooperation and co-ordination with developed countries; coordination with related national or regional programmes or initiatives and; coordination of FP7 projects addressing security, dependability, privacy and related ethical issues across different challenges and objectives of this work programme.
. . . . .

• ICT users empowered to handle their digital identity and personal data and to protect their privacy, turning the European view on privacy into an economic advantage; strengthened trust in the use of networks, software and services for governments, businesses and consumers.

. . . . . . .

b) Cooperating objects and Wireless Sensor Networks: spontaneous cooperation of objects in spatial proximity in order to jointly execute a given task. This will require

(1)
new methods and algorithms to support different cooperation concepts and modes;
(2)
hardware/software platforms including operating systems or kernels and communication protocols to enable distributed optimal execution; and
(3)
programming abstractions and support tools to facilitate third party programming of self-organising systems composed of heterogeneous objects. Research challenges also include dynamic resource discovery and management, semantics that allow object/service definition and querying for data and resources, advanced control that makes the systems reactive to the physical world, as well as security and privacy-enabling features. While the developed technology should be generic, it should be driven by an entire class of ambitious future applications in which scalability and deployment should be addressed. International cooperation on foundational research with the USA and other countries is encouraged.

. . . . . . . .

Architectures and technologies for personalised distribution, presentation and consumption of self-aware, adaptive content. Detecting and exploiting emergent ambient intelligence they will use features embedded in content objects and rendering equipment to enable dynamic device adaptation, immersive multimodal experiences and contextual support of user goals and linguistic preferences. Privacy preserving learning algorithms will analyse user interactions with devices and other users so as to update and effectively serve those goals and preferences..

. . . . . . . . .



LINKS:

i2010 - A European Information Society for growth and employment

November 27, 2006

November 24, 2006

South Korean city of the future raises hopes, concerns


South Korea is one of the most exciting places to work in IT issues, so just look at Ministry of Information and Communication website, or IT 839 Strategy (8 services/3 infras/ 9 engines).

Today Taipei Times, publishes this article about the New Songdo City, which its developers say may be the world's largest ever private development project, is the crown jewel of an ambitious plan by the Seoul government to turn a muddy plot of 607 hectares of reclaimed land on the Yellow Sea into a gateway to northeast Asia.

Read full article:

South Korean city of the future raises hopes, concerns
PERSONAL INFORMATION: Want to live and work in a place that is totally networked? Try New Songdo City, but be warned -- Big Brother might intrude on your privacy

November 23, 2006

Report: Data agency broke privacy laws

published at Business Week, November 23, 2006

By CONSTANT BRAND

BRUSSELS, Belgium


A report by an EU panel released Thursday said the bank data transfer agency SWIFT broke European privacy laws by handing over personal data to U.S. authorities for use in anti-terror investigations.

The Belgian-based company, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, "committed violations of data protection laws" by secretly transferring data to the United States, without properly informing Belgian authorities, the EU's data protection panel said.

The panel's report calls on SWIFT, financial institutions and EU authorities to "take the necessary measures" to end the transfer, which it said contradicts Belgian and EU data protection rules. SWIFT is still transferring data under U.S. subpoenas.

Read full article at Businees Week

November 22, 2006

U.S., EU Seek to Ease Banking-Privacy Concerns


The Wall Street Journal online publishs today this article U.S., EU Seek to EaseBanking-Privacy Concerns by Glenn R. Simpson about the European privacy watchdogs step up their criticism of a U.S. counterterrorism program that monitors global bank-transfer data, U.S. and European Union officials are quietly exploring ways to preserve the program while allaying privacy concerns.


Read full article at Wall Street Journal

November 17, 2006

Spying On My Wife


Simson Garfinkel writes an article Spying On My Wife on Technology Review about CarChip "35-by-48-by-25-millimeter data recorder that plugs into a connector found under the dashboard of most cars and light trucks sold in the United States and Canada since 1996".

"The CarChip's reports contain an incredible amount of data. The report for each trip notes when the engine was started, when it stopped, and how fast the car was going every five seconds in between--all in the form of a pretty graph"

Read the full article at: Technology Review

November 16, 2006

Snap... privacy and 33.5m camera phones

Christina Michalos is a barrister at 5RB, London. She has written The Law of Photography & Digital Images (Sweet & Maxwell, 2004)

She writes this article
Snap... privacy and 33.5m camera phones at Times online.

THERE are now more than 33.5 million camera phones in Britain, according to a recent survey by the Mobile Data Association. This is more than just an interesting statistic — it means that there are 33.5 million people equipped to take a photograph or video of you in a public place and upload it on to the internet for the world to see.

Many magazines and photo agencies pay for mobile phone pictures of celebrities taken by the public. Image-sharing sites such as YouTube and Flikr, which have a user base far in excess of any tabloid newspaper, are full of videos and photographs authored by citizen paparazzi. So what can Joe Public do to stop his 15 minutes of fame becoming 15 minutes of internet shame via an unfortunate camera phone image?


Read full article at Times Online

November 15, 2006

Ernest & Young: Global Information Security Survey


The 2006 Global Information Security Survey by Ernest & Young is unique in providing a genuine, standards-driven benchmarking approach with the ISO 17799 based-benchmark. Organizations wanting to participate in the ISO 17799-based benchmark can do so at no cost and obtain their own individual report.

Paul van Kessel, Global Leader of Ernst & Young’s Technology and Security Risk Services, comments, “We have identified five major information security priorities in which companies are showing significant progress, but also where continuous improvements are necessary to keep pace with the growing requirements of effective risk management.

Among the most notable priorities is privacy and personal data protection, which is the one information security issue most-consumer driven. It has become a high-stakes business issue, catapulted up the board agenda by consumer concerns caused by well publicized lapses of security and the growing response of government and legislative activism. Understandably it is the area where companies are being most active, with privacy and data protection practices becoming increasingly more formalized.”

November 13, 2006

vnunet.com comment: Clive Longbottom on the end of privacy

Clive Longbottom, service director of Quocirca, writes this article at vnunet.com: vnunet.com comment: Clive Longbottom on the end of privacy

The latest problem to be thrown at us, on top of war, global warming, disease etc, is that we are 'sleepwalking into a surveillance society'.

The worry is that, owing to all the data being collected these days, we no longer have any real privacy.


We are covered by cameras, the 'powers that be' have oodles of information on everyone of us, and the private sector has got in on the act with the likes of loyalty cards.

Read full article at vnunet.com

November 10, 2006

RFID & IBM




By Erika Morphywww.CRMBuyer.com

Part of the ECT News Network 11/09/06 3:04 PM PT

A year after IBM scientist Paul Moskowitz distributed handmade prototypes of his invention at an industry event, IBM has announced it will license his Clipped Tag technology -- which features an RFID tag small and flexible enough to allow consumers to tear off most of its antenna -- to Marnlen RFiD. The firm said it will begin production of Clipped Tag products immediately.

Read more at: technewsworld.com

Intel drafts privacy license for mobile device software

November 09, 2006 (IDG News Service) -- Intel Corp. has attached a privacy license to its new location-aware software product, intended to protect cell phone users’ personal information as mobile devices increasingly rely on tracking technology to provide targeted services.

Installed on a smart phone or ultramobile PC, location-aware software can use GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to produce tailored information like driving directions, nearby restaurants and movie schedules. The downside of that feature is that handsets can double as tracking devices if location data is not kept private. The abuse of such access could range from civil liberties violations to physical threats in the cases of vulnerable people like battered spouses, Intel fears.

So, Intel has added a privacy addendum to the Eclipse Public License it uses for the software application called Privacy Observant Location System (POLS), according to a posting on Intel's Web site by John Miller, the privacy and security policy manager of Intel's corporate technology group.

November 08, 2006

28th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners' Conference


The last week held in London, the annual Conference of Data Protection and Information Commissioners.

A communiqué was agreed by the Commissioners at the 28th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. The Commissioners have also adopted several important resolutions.

As technological advances increase the amount of surveillance the Commissioners have recognised the challenges facing data protection. They have identified the key areas where they will work together to overcome these issues and reinforce the fundamental importance of data protection and privacy. These include:


• Assessing the effectiveness of their traditional approaches, and adapting where necessary, to ensure they remain relevant in a fast changing world.

• Engaging with policy makers and citizens more effectively about privacy issues.

• Developing communications to raise awareness of individuals’ data protection rights.


Documents

Surveillance society report
Report
Appendices

Summary report
English
French
German
Spanish

Public discussion document
English
French
German
Spanish

November 07, 2006

Privacy chiefs vow to fight surveillance together



Privacy chiefs vow to fight surveillance together, is an article published at Out-Law.com


A group of international data and privacy protection commissioners has decided to act together to challenge the surveillance society which they claim is developing. Commissioners from the UK, France, Germany and New Zealand will adopt common policies.

At the annual Conference of Data Protection and Information Commissioners, held last week in London, a joint set of objectives was adopted by the international commissioners aimed at tackling what they see as a growing international issue of constant citizen surveillance.

Read full article at: OUT-LAW

November 06, 2006

Tracking traffic with cell phones

Credits: Photo by unapersona

Cell phones to track traffic, but at what cost to privacy? article published at CHRON
Associated Press


In some places, costly cameras and radar systems are mounted high above highways to watch traffic at strategic points. Transportation agencies also dig up roads to install sensors that monitor the flow. And helicopters roam the skies of the busiest cities, relaying information to media outlets.

A schematic of how the IntelliOne system works (monotoring.co.za web site)

Atlanta's horrendous traffic has inspired two companies that are looking to monitor more roads and highways at a much lower cost. Their approach: Track the signals of cell phones inside cars.

Read full article at CHRON

Links:

IntelliOne

AirSage

November 03, 2006

Driving Impulse Shopping with a Smart Cart

Photo: unpersona

Text source: Technology Review
By Duncan Graham-Rowe


Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology may not only be useful for streamlining inventory and supply chains: it could also make shoppers swarm. A new study suggests that supermarkets could increase their revenues by using information gleaned from RFID tags to make shoppers behave like an impulse-buying collective.

Impulse buying currently accounts for about 40 percent of all supermarket purchases, says Ronaldo Menezes, an expert in swarm intelligence at the Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, FL. But his research suggests that impulse buying could be significantly increased if information was fed back to shoppers about what others are buying.

Full article at Technology Review

November 02, 2006

Microsoft Announces New Identity Management System



Source text epic website


Microsoft recently announced a new identity management system "CardSpace Identity Selector" that will be included as a Windows component embedded in the Vista operating system. Microsoft executives described CardSpace as an "identity metasystem" that allows a user to create multiple virtual ID cards. Kim Cameron, chief identity architect at Microsoft, said each virtual card created by the user would only contain the minimum amount of information that individuals will need to divulge to carry out a transaction applicable to the card. If the system works as advertised, it will be a welcome change from Microsoft's original proposal for an Internet-based identity system, dubbed "Passport."


More info at epic website

Kim Cameron's Identity Weblog

Privacy saved my life

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