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Legislating Social Privacy
July 30, 2010
There’s a great deal of talk these days about privacy and social media. Specifically, services like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social networking platforms are coming under increased scrutiny over their privacy policies and data sharing practices. Permalink

When Privileged Access is no longer a Privilege
July 19, 2010
I just read an interesting multi-part investigative report in the Washington Post about how intelligence gathering – and the bureaucracy that has risen since September 11, 2001 to facilitate the harvest and analysis of that information – has spun beyond the federal government’s control, not to mention its ability to make use of the sheer abundance of information. Permalink

Information Governance in the Cloud
July 15, 2010
Just a brief note to bring our recent webinar to your attention. I presented Information Governance in the Cloud along with the good people at Symantec. Permalink

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The Profession of Privacy

July 8, 2009

I just completed an article for and upcoming edition of the IAPP newsletter Privacy Advisor on some of the things that are influencing the profession of privacy. I won't give away too much of it here, except to say that I got some great input from a number of prominent folks and think I managed to capture some valuable insight. Bottom line: be strategic and resist marginalization. As privacy professionals, we bring (or we should bring) much more than compliance to the table when data security and management being discussed.

When I finished my draft, I realized I had collected a few nuggets that might be of value to folks just getting started or considering a career focused on privacy. Here's a quick synopsis of areas that can help a privacy pro enhance their influence:

Physical Security – an emphasis on the security of digital assets often results in a diminishment of the role physical security plays in the overall data security picture.

Intellectual Property – Understanding how organizations manage and protect intellectual property can help to better manage and protect personally identifiable information. And shouldn’t you consider PII IP anyway?

Technology Trends – Technical innovation is a moving target, but keeping on top of trends and understanding their impact on security can help a company avoid learning the hard way. Yesterday’s collaborative platform is today’s cloud computing is tomorrow’s unknown. Don’t let the pressure to innovate impair sound data management judgment.

Social Networking – Blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter… these utilities and many others are not going away. Understand their benefits and risks and you’ll be better prepared to think strategically about how your company can safely utilize them in today’s business arena.

Interdepartmental Collaboration – Talk with your colleagues in human resources, marketing, legal, IT, facilities management, and other departments to learn their role in data privacy, security, and management, and offer yourself as a resource.

Identify Cost Benefits – Identify and quantify the ways your efforts are helping to save money and make those calculations part of your dialog with management.

Posted by Mike Spinney at 4:25 pm

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