Peter A Clarke

 The International Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) held in Nevada every January, generates plenty of media interest as new gizmos and gadgets are unveiled for the first time.  Some go on to be world beaters while others sink without trace.  Privacy concerns are also a regular fixture of the product launches.  And this year is no different.   The Washington Post in As automakers tap smartphone technology, concerns grow about use of drivers’ data highlights the privacy risks Read the rest of this entry »

In his excellent Open and Shut blog of 7 Januuary 2014, titled Appointing a privacy commissioner low priority for most states, Peter Timmins sets out in detail the lamentable situation of state governments not appointing or making permanent the privacy commissioners in Queensland and Victoria and the lack of regulatory oversight in South Australia,  West Australia and Tasmania.

But it seems that governmental lethargy is not an Australian problem only.  On 7 January 2014 Peter Hustinx Read the rest of this entry »

The UK Government has updated its guidelines on identity proofing and verification.  The guidelines have been jointly issued by the Cabinet Office and the UK’s National Technical Authority on Information Assurance.  It is found here. The government previously issued a consultation paper on draft identity assurance principles (found here)

There are four levels of assurance that organisations can have about an individuals’ identity with details of the evidence and checks required in order to claim compliance with each level.

The standards range from requiring a basic level of verification and validation of documents to the need to obtain and verifyidentifying documentation including biometric passports and bank statements.  It is relevant that the principles require ID assurance service providers to only process “the minimum data that is necessary” to meet the needs of individual service users. In addition, ID assurance providers would have to provide individuals with a right to access their personal data for free and transmit the data to another provider “in a standard electronic format, free of charge and without impediment or delay” upon the request of a user.

The UK Information Commissioner’s office has issued recommendations on the use of bring your own devices (“BYOD”).  Poor practices regarding BYODs have caused significant privacy breaches.  The Information Commissioner has taken action against government and private organisations in the last 12 months.  The recommendations are found here.

The recommendations and media release provides:

A survey before Christmas showed that sixty per cent of the UK population now own a smart phone and 20% a tablet. This is no doubt even higher as smart phones and tablets topped many people’s Christmas gift lists, and an increasing number want to use their personal devices at work.

Known as ‘bring your own device’ this trend has Read the rest of this entry »

On 5 December 2013 the Age ran a piece titled Are you prepared for the March 2014 Privacy Act changes?  It is a piece, with helpful links to business.gov.au and the Privacy Commissioner’s site, that sets out directly and pithily the key issues that every organisation and agency needs to address now rather than in March 2014.

Does the Act apply to my business?

The Age reports in Schoolboy hacks Public Transport Victoria website how a 16 year old, Joshua Rogers, hacked into the Public Transport Victoria (“PTV”) website. The article notes that after Joshua notified the PTV of the security flaws it kindly notified the police and the Privacy Commissioner.  The reasons were not provided.  It will be interesting to see how both guardians, one of law and order and the other of privacy, will respond to the challenge.  Given PTV’s database contains vast amounts of personal information, including credit card details,the reported inadequacy of its on line security is a major concern.  Hopefully the Privacy Commissioner will take a robust approach when investigating this alleged failing. It would be fascinating to see what the results of a Privacy Impact Assessment by the PTV will reveal. Of course that won’t be made public.  Assuming it happens.

The article provides:

Personal information Read the rest of this entry »

Evernote is app royalty.  A huge following and a very practical app.  I have Evernote.  But, as I have posted earlier, apps are prone to privacy breaches.  App developers and managers commonly fail to develop privacy protections, protocols and means of handling personal information.  The BBC in Evernote to focus on fixing bugs after complaints highlights how even the established and well regarded apps fall down in the privacy department. The constant challenge Read the rest of this entry »

Google and privacy.  Rarely a good fit, whether as a noun or adjective.  In Glass, Hats and Persistent Privacy Violations Wired reports on the privacy invasive actuality (not potential) of google caps/hats/glasses.  This technology, like drones, highlight the lacuna in the law.  Inadequate common law protections, a Privacy Act which would not be applicable for vast majority of users and no statutory right of privacy.

The article provides:

HAMBURG – In a perfect future, Stephen Balaban wants plenty of people to be wearing his Lambda Hat, a soon-to-be-released baseball-hat version of Google Glass. But even he has mixed feelings about the results.

Speaking here at the 30th annual Chaos Communication Congress, a conference that puts the highest premium possible on privacy, Balaban offered an uncomfortable reminder of the tradeoffs associated with the rise of ubiquitous computing, including his own use of his own product’s prototype.

“The sheer amount of data Read the rest of this entry »

Mobile Apps are privacy invasive time bombs.  That unfortunately go off way too often.  This issue is now on the radar of information commissioner’s around the world.  And not before time.

The Privacy Commissioner has issued a guide on Mobile apps (found here)  and a check list (found here). The Warsaw declaration at the 35th international conference of data protection and privacy commissioners on the appification of society stated:

The Age in Facebook sued over alleged scanning of users’ private messages reports on yet another allegation of Facebook interfering with its users privacy.  Here scanning messages of its users.  The allegations are just that but Facebook has been so contemptuous of privacy in the past Read the rest of this entry »