30.10.2009 – 08:19

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario and ILITA

A Call to Action: International Privacy Experts Urged to Carry Privacy by Design Concept to Own Jurisdictions

Madrid (ots/PRNewswire)

- Embed Privacy Into the Design of Technology, Business Practices
and  Infrastructure, to Protect Personal Freedoms: Commissioner
Cavoukian

An all-star cast of international privacy professionals will
gather in  Madrid today to consider how the concept of Privacy by
Design can be employed  in their own jurisdictions. Dr. Ann
Cavoukian, Information and Privacy  Commissioner of Ontario, Canada
(IPC) and Yoram Hacohen, Head of the Israeli  Law, Information and
Technology Authority (ILITA), are co-hosting Privacy  by Design: The
Definitive Workshop.

The pre-conference event will capitalize on the world's leading
privacy experts meeting together in Madrid for the 31st International
Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. Attendees
will be urged to become Privacy by Design Ambassadors by identifying
areas that intersect with personally identifiable information in
their own organizations, and working toward building in the
principles of Privacy by Design.

Commissioner Cavoukian's Privacy by Design concept is based on
embedding privacy into the design of new technologies, business
practices and infrastructure by proactively treating privacy as the
default, rather than adding protection after-the-fact.

Privacy by Design: The Definitive Workshop is a one-day event
featuring a number of distinguished Commissioners, including: Peter
Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor; Peter Schaar, Federal
Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information -
Germany; Dr. Alexander Dix, Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection
and Freedom of Information; Marie Shroff, New Zealand Privacy
Commissioner; Stephen Lau, former Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner for
Personal Data; Malcolm Crompton, former Australian Privacy
Commissioner; Pamela Jones-Harbour, Commissioner, U.S. Federal Trade
Commission; and Mozelle W. Thompson, former Commissioner, U.S.
Federal Trade Commission.

The event is sponsored by Intel, the National Association for
Information Destruction (NAID), Facebook, Oracle, Google and Impinj.
Exhibitors include Nymity, NAID, University of Toronto, McAfee,
Impinj and the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry.

Three Privacy by Design white papers co-authored by the IPC
will be launched today:

- Remote Home Health Care Technologies: How to Ensure Privacy?
    - co-authored by Intel and GE Healthcare;
    - Privacy by Design: Essential for Organizational Accountability and
      Strong Business Practices - co-authored by Hewlett-Packard and The
      Centre for Information and Policy Leadership; and
    - A Pragmatic Approach to Privacy Risk Optimization -
      co-authored by Nymity.

"When I first developed Privacy by Design back in the '90s, it
was never intended to live in an ivory tower. I thought it could
bring about real changes in our everyday lives with respect to
protecting privacy," says Commissioner Cavoukian. "The protection of
privacy and personal information cannot be treated as a regional
issue. Privacy transcends jurisdictions - technology knows no
bounds."

For example, this year Commissioner Cavoukian worked with Max
Snijder, CEO of the European Biometrics Forum, to produce The
Relevance of Untraceable Biometrics and Biometric Encryption, a paper
on the use of biometrics for authentication purposes - an issue
currently at the forefront in countries including Israel, the
Netherlands and Canada. The paper will be released today as part of a
special biometric and national identification documents panel.

"The objective of Privacy by Design is to ensure that privacy is
protected now, and well into the future," adds Yoram Hacohen. "In
many cases, this can be achieved through the use of Privacy-Enhancing
Technologies (PETs) - technologies that protect privacy without
adversely impacting business operations. If we change the paradigm to
allow the existence of privacy alongside functionality, then the
future of privacy grows more certain."

"Privacy can no longer be assured solely by compliance with
regulatory frameworks," says Commissioner Cavoukian. "Rather, we must
strive to make privacy - the cornerstone of our rights and freedoms -
the default mode of operation - globally."

For more information, please visit http://www.privacybydesign.ca.

Media wanting to attend, receive information from the Workshop
or arrange an interview, please contact:

Canada:
    Angus Fisher
    Desk: +1(416)-326-3902
    Cell: +1(416)-627-0307
     angus.fisher@ipc.on.ca
    Europe:
    Estella Cohen
    Cell: +1(416)-317-6263
     Estella.cohen@ipc.on.ca

Contact:

Media wanting to attend, receive information from the Workshop or
arrange an interview, please contact: Canada: Angus Fisher, Desk:
+1(416)-326-3902, Cell: +1(416)-627-0307, angus.fisher@ipc.on.ca;
Europe: Estella Cohen, Cell: +1(416)-317-6263,
Estella.cohen@ipc.on.ca