December 5, 2013
Data breaches in the health sector is an ongoing issue requiring close supervision. The information, usually of or relating to patients, is almost invariably highly confidential. And by definition sensitive information under the Privacy Act. In the UK a former manager of a GP’s Practice has been prosecuted for unlawfully accessing medical records of 1940 patients.
The ICO has Read the rest of this entry »
December 4, 2013
The rapid and exponential increase in the civilian use of drone technology highlights the inadequacy of privacy protection in Australia. Whereas American state legislatures are moving the fill the regulatory gaps regarding the use of drones in Australia neither Read the rest of this entry »
November 29, 2013
Today the ACMA commences a campaign on the usage of smart devices, especially phones, by youth and the consequences of oversharing. ACMA has set up a cybersmart website found here.
The media release (found here) relevantly provides:
It’s something all too obvious to parents of teenagers: how much life has changed in the last three years, let alone since they were teens. And with smartphones now in most teens’ pockets, using Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp and hashtags, the ins and outs of social media can be Read the rest of this entry »
November 28, 2013
Public Books has reviewed a newly released book by Oxford University Press, Family Secrets: Shame and Privacy in Modern Britain. It is an interesting review of the development of the concept of privacy from its original concepts to the modern cause of action.
The review provides:
October 10, 2013 — Family Secrets by Deborah Cohen injects the marrow back into two centuries of skeletons locked away in household closets. A leading historian of modern Britain and Europe, Cohen has put together a rollicking read through the hidden land of cultural morality and its fundamental institution, the family. A son who prefers lipstick to lip balm might bring little shame to the family name today, but Cohen takes it as her project to explain how the secrets of the 19th century have been transformed into questions of privacy in the 20th. The sources of Read the rest of this entry »
November 27, 2013
The report UN backing universal privacy right highlights the concern and frustration over the phone tapping scandal arising out of the Snowden revalations. Germany and Brazil were particularly annoyed and sponsored the motion. It will of course have little practical effect.
The UN General Assembly’s human rights committee has unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Brazil and Germany to protect the right to privacy against unlawful surveillance, following months of reports about US eavesdropping abroad.
The symbolic resolution, Read the rest of this entry »
Today I delivered a paper on Privacy and health records.
The topics I covered were:
Patient privacy and confidential record management Read the rest of this entry »
November 26, 2013
For those interested in gauging the approach of the Privacy Commissioner to his use of soon to be newly acquired enforcement powers his Read the rest of this entry »
November 25, 2013
The Itnews report on a speech by the Privacy Commissioner is Read the rest of this entry »
November 22, 2013
As false dichotomy goes erstwhile Prime Minister Read the rest of this entry »
The Information Commissioner of the UK has issued a media release (found here) about a conviction of two private investigators who tricked organisations to obtain personal information, usually in connection with debt recovery actions.
The Press Release provides:
Two men who ran a company that tricked organisations into revealing personal details about customers have today been found guilty of conspiring to breach the Data Protection Act.
Barry Spencer, 41, and Adrian Stanton, 40, ran ICU Investigations Ltd in Feltham, Middlesex. The pair were convicted at Isleworth Crown Court of conspiring to unlawfully obtain personal data. Five employees of the company had previously pleaded guilty to the same offence: Robert Sparling (38), Joel Jones (43), Michael Sparling (41), Neil Sturton (43) and Lee Humphreys (41). The company ICU Investigations Ltd was also found guilty as a separate defendant. A sentencing hearing has now been listed for the 24 January 2014.
ICU Investigations Ltd worked on behalf of clients Read the rest of this entry »