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About PbDCE

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About PbDCE

The Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence is intended to serve as the Gold Standard for privacy and data protection. It rests on advancing the need to take proactive measures to embed privacy and security into all operations – both systems-related and policy/legal matters. By identifying the risks, we can avoid them through the implementation of the 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design – we can largely prevent the privacy harms from arising. PbD offers a system of prevention, much like a medical model of prevention, attempting to prevent privacy infractions and data breaches from arising, thereby enhancing the protection of the data, right from the outset. Surveillance is the antithesis of privacy. Privacy by Design makes every effort to eradicate government surveillance, which remains largely invisible. The International Foundation for Global Privacy and Security, by Design, extends PbD to ensure the use of positive-sum models and the avoidance of zero-sum.

Our mission

Our mission is to spread the word on how to operationalize Privacy by Design, especially given its inclusion in the new E.U. General Data Protection Regulation. We must make every effort to banish the dated model of zero-sum, win/lose paradigms, in favour of doubly-enabling, full/positive-sum models, wherein multiple parties may jointly “win.” We must have privacy AND security, privacy AND data analytics – not one interest “winning” at the expense of the other. Here’s to advancing research on how to embed privacy into the design of all technology touching upon the use of personally identifiable data: machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, neural networks, etc. We can do this!

The 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design

The objectives of Privacy by Design — ensuring strong privacy and gaining personal control over one’s information, and, for organizations, gaining a sustainable competitive advantage — may be accomplished by practicing the  (PDF file) 7 Foundational Principles (opens in new window) , which are intended to serve as the foundation of one’s privacy practices.

The Privacy by Design (PbD) framework is characterized by the taking of proactive rather than reactive measures. It anticipates the risks and prevents privacy invasive events before they occur. PbDdoes not wait for privacy risks to materialize, nor does it offer remedies for resolving privacy infractions once they have occurred —it aims to identify the risks and prevent the harms from arising. In short, Privacy by Design comes before-the-fact, not after.

We can all be certain of one thing —the default rules! Privacy by Design seeks to deliver the maximum degree of privacy by ensuring that personal data are automatically protected in any given IT system or business practice, as the default. If an individual does nothing, their privacy still remains intact. No action is required on the part of the individual in order to protect their privacy —it is already built into the system, by default.

Privacy measures are embedded into the design and architecture of IT systems and business practices. These are not bolted on as add-ons, after the fact. The result is that privacy becomes an essential component of the core functionality being delivered. Privacy is thus integral to the system, without diminishing functionality.

Privacy by Design seeks to accommodate all legitimate interests and objectives in a positive-sum “win-win” manner, not through the dated, zero-sum (either/or) approach, where unnecessary trade-offs are made. Privacy by Design avoids the pretense of false dichotomies, such as privacy vs. security, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to have both.

Privacy by Design, having been embedded into the system prior to the first element of information being collected, extends securely throughout the entire lifecycle of the data involved —strong security measures are essential to privacy, from start to finish. This ensures that all data are securely collected, used, retained, and then securely destroyed at the end of the process, in a timely fashion. Thus, Privacy by Design ensures cradle to grave, secure lifecycle management of information, end-to-end.

Privacy by Design seeks to assure all stakeholders that whatever the business practice or technology involved, it is in fact, operating according to the stated promises and objectives, subject to independent verification. The data subject is made fully aware of the personal data being collected, and for what purpose(s). All the component parts and operations remain visible and transparent, to users and providers alike. Remember, trust but verify!

Above all, Privacy by Design requires architects and operators to keep the interests of the individual uppermost by offering such measures as strong privacy defaults, appropriate notice, and empowering user-friendly options. The goal is to ensure user-centredprivacy in an increasingly connected world. Keep it user-centric.