Page 60 - Security Today, April 2018

A Privacy Balancing Act
The privacy of the individual is the ultimate importance
BPy Arie Melamed
rivacy. It’s gone beyond buzzword into a class of its own: basically, privacy of the individual is of the ul- timate importance, and all else must fall away in our efforts to preserve it.
To that end, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25. While this regulation is being mandated by the EU, it applies to organiza- tions located in European Union states, organization located outside of the EU processing personal data of EU citizens, and multinational companies that supply goods or services to, and/or monitor the be-
havior of people in the EU.
GDPR addresses how data (including names, photos, email ad-
dress, bank details, social media posts, medical information or a computer IP address) is collected, consented, used, processed, erased and controlled. The new legislation essentially sets higher fines for non-compliance or data breaches, and gives people (or, data subjects) more control and visibility over their personal information, what or- ganizations do with it, and for how long. The basic concept is that the data subject, and not the collector, is the owner of his personal data.
According to the new regulations, an individual needs to will- ingly consent before his data would be collected; data may only be
44
0418 | SECURITY TODAY
processed under “lawful” circumstances—meaning, there must be a specific purpose that is transparent and known to the data subject.
What is fascinating is that all of this is taking place with a back- drop of a global push for better security, more scrutiny and making the most of contactless biometric technologies, which is considered as sensitive private information.
So how can GDPR, security and biometrics coexist? What are the challenges and in which areas does society need to focus its energy?
Surveillance—More Important than Ever
There are far reaching implications of these new laws. CCTV cam- eras are commonly used in widespread surveillance systems. These systems can include hundreds, or in public spaces, tens of thousands (or more if you live in London) of CCTV cameras, which constantly record and collect people’s images. Police and other law enforcement officials often rely on these systems. Organizations and facilities also use CCTV cameras as part of their security infrastructures.
Does every person in the public sphere have to give their consent for this type of surveillance? In short, no. Surveillance is a com- mon enough practice that simply having a sign in an area, informing people that they are being recorded, should be enough. If people see
BIOMETRICS
Artem Oleshko/Shutterstock.com