Information Commissioner sets out 2008 agenda

The Information Commissioner has today begun proceedings to turn up the pressure on all those in both public and private sectors who still refuse to acknowledge the importance of data privacy and security.

The 'surveillance society' event held in Manchester today to launch new Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) guidelines and frameworks by which organisations can tangibly measure their levels of privacy and security risks, gave the Information Commissioner himself, Richard Thomas the opportunity to set out the ICO agenda for 2008.

He exclusively told IT PRO the ICO would be launching a new data protection strategy early next year, designed to increase "the ICO remit of promoting good practice, enforcing data protection and privacy laws and raising awareness" of the importance of safeguarding data.

"The whole area of promoting the PIAs is a key part of that," he said. And he flagged a new CCTV code of conduct that will be launched towards the end of January. He added: The public's attitude towards these issues has always been ambivalent, but I think high-profile data losses that have the potential to hit people in their pockets are certainly helping to raise them up the agenda."

To the evermore sophisticated rise of targeted phishing attacks, Thomas said: "Although the security risks go way beyond our remit, the trend in phishing tactics prove that it is a matter of enlightened self interest for organisations to tackle these issues - the damage to brand reputation is a powerful deterrent as well nowadays.

Gareth Crossman, policy director of human rights organisation Liberty presented to the ICO audience and backed Thomas's previous public calls for more power of enforcement and sanction.

"Data breaches are starting to erode the 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' mentality that characterised the higher security concerns due to terrorist threats," said Crossman.

He said, in response, the ICO needs greater powers, acceptable-use CCTV legislation along the lines of those laid down by the Data Protection Act (DPA) need to be established, while the DPA itself needed updating.

"I think it's time we started to redress the balance of fear versus concern for the privacy of our data," he added, referring also to the need to look at more judicial control of the possible ID cards and DNA databases, the upcoming children's database and the Interception of Communications legislation.

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