Privacy Principles Research Articles

Indicating the principle of privacy in Iranian- Islamic urban planning

Indicating the principle of privacy in Iranian- Islamic urban planning

Digitally Sustainable Information Systems in Axiomatic Design

Nowadays, information systems are evolving towards increasingly interconnected, smart, and self-adaptive models. This transformation has led to the representation of the systems themselves in terms of natural ecosystems. Similar to the natural environment, the virtual world can be threatened by specific forms of pollution, such as illegitimate access to the system, unwanted changes to data, and loss of information, which affect the only resource it possesses, i.e., data. In order to provide proactive protection of data integrity and confidentiality, in this paper we consider the well-known principles of privacy by design and privacy by default in the design phase of system development. To this end, we propose an approach based on axiomatic design, which allows us to implement these two principles through an appropriate reinterpretation of the information axiom, in terms of privacy impact assessment. We illustrate our approach by a case study, which implements the process of managing patients in home care. However, the proposed method can be applied to processing systems that provide services. The main result achieved is to select the most digitally sustainable design solution, i.e., the one that best prevents the threats mentioned above.

Hands-Free Authentication for Virtual Assistants with Trusted IoT Device and Machine Learning.

Virtual assistants, deployed on smartphone and smart speaker devices, enable hands-free financial transactions by voice commands. Even though these voice transactions are frictionless for end users, they are susceptible to typical attacks to authentication protocols (e.g., replay). Using traditional knowledge-based or possession-based authentication with additional invasive interactions raises users concerns regarding security and usefulness. State-of-the-art schemes for trusted devices with physical unclonable functions (PUF) have complex enrollment processes. We propose a scheme based on a challenge response protocol with a trusted Internet of Things (IoT) autonomous device for hands-free scenarios (i.e., with no additional user interaction), integrated with smart home behavior for continuous authentication. The protocol was validated with automatic formal security analysis. A proof of concept with websockets presented an average response time of 383 ms for mutual authentication using a 6-message protocol with a simple enrollment process. We performed hands-free activity recognition of a specific user, based on smart home testbed data from a 2-month period, obtaining an accuracy of 97% and a recall of 81%. Given the data minimization privacy principle, we could reduce the total number of smart home events time series from 7 to 5. When compared with existing invasive solutions, our non-invasive mechanism contributes to the efforts to enhance the usability of financial institutions’ virtual assistants, while maintaining security and privacy.

Permitting gender equality in Abrahamic circumcision: the central argument – in retrospect and reply

To the extent that the Dawoodi Bohra custom of circumcising girls as well as boys (1) has broad support among Dawoodi Bohra women, (2) is motivated by a gender-equal interpretation of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17 of the Hebrew Bible) traceable to the views and sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, (3) is less physically invasive than a legal male circumcision as practised by Jews and Muslims, and (4) there is scant evidence of serious harms associated with the procedure, it seems reasonable to suggest that space should be made in a liberal, multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multicultural society for this particular long-standing family life custom. When and if those four conditions hold, the custom is arguably protected by principles of religious liberty, family privacy, parental rights and equal protection for both females and males before the law.

A Survey: To Govern, Protect, and Detect Security Principles on Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

The integration of medical equipment into the Internet of Things (IoT) led to the introduction of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Variation of IoT devices have been equipped in medical facilities. These devices provided convenience to healthcare provider since they can continuously monitor their patients in real-time, while allowing them to have greater physical flexibility and mobility. However, users of healthcare services (such as patients and medical staff) often are less concerned about security issues associated with IoT. These alleviate existing problems and jeopardize the lives of their patients by making them susceptible to attacks. Furthermore, IoMT applications have direct access to healthcare services because it handles sensitive patient information. Therefore, it is extremely important to preserve and establish the security and privacy of IoMT. This further justifies the need to investigate and address the related issues. Despite existing literature on security and privacy mechanisms, the domain still requires more attention. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the security and privacy principles, as well as challenges associated with IoMT. Besides, a comprehensive analysis of privacy and security solutions for IoMT is also presented. In addition, we introduced a novel taxonomy of IoMT security and privacy based on cyber security principles such as “govern,” “protect,” and “detect”. In conclusion, this paper provides a discussion on existing challenges and future direction for researchers.

An Efficient Ensemble Architecture for Privacy and Security of Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records, one of the sensitive data, are stored in public or private cloud service providers. Cloud systems provide security with firewall and intrusion detection systems, and these systems ensure privacy with access control and end-to-end encryption. However, while sending data to the cloud system, attackers can capture the data with the help of Man in the Middle attacks and vulnerabilities of the storage systems. In the middleware architecture proposed in this study, access control protocol, key distributor and end-to-end hybrid encryption which are based on user roles were innovatively used to overcome security issues in data transmission. In this system, writing and updating requests are encrypted asymmetrically, and reading requests were encrypted symmetrically. This solution distinguishes the proposed method from previous studies. According to this solution the operating performance of the system is increased. In addition, the attacker cannot see the actual data in a cyber-attacks because the sensitive data is distributed to the users with their private keys. This result shows that the access, write and update of electronic medical records are performed with the principles of security and privacy.

Islamic and European Perspectives on Data Privacy in Online Contracts

The aim of the article is to discuss privacy laws in on-line contracts from the Shari’ah perspective. While much has been written on this subject from the modern perspective, few scholars have applied the Shari’ah lens. Privacy is the very soul of being human. It is not only about keeping personal information confidential but also about creating a trusted framework for collecting, exchanging, and using personal data in online contracts. Islamic law, on the basis of the holy Qur’an and Sunnah, gives great significance to the right of privacy. This fundamental human right is also recognized by modern western jurisdictions. The right to privacy and data protection for e-consumers in online contracts is crucial for the functioning of online commerce. This paper attempts to explore the extent of the sanctity given to the right to privacy in Islamic law. Although the paper is essentially about privacy law in Islam, reference is also made to European law on the same subject. The paper will show that in this regard, Islamic principles are not at odds with modern principles of privacy. Key words: Data Protection | E-consumers Right | Privacy | Islamic and European Law | Online Contract

Australia’s Forgotten Privacy Principle: Why Common ‘Enrichment’ of Customer Data for Profiling and Targeting is Unlawful

Australia’s Forgotten Privacy Principle: Why Common ‘Enrichment’ of Customer Data for Profiling and Targeting is Unlawful

Privacy framework for context-aware robot development

Abstract Privacy is an essential topic in (social) robotics and becomes even more important when considering interactive and autonomous robots within the domestic environment. Robots will collect a lot of personal and sensitive information about the users and their environment. Thereby, privacy does consider the topic of (cyber-)security and the protection of information against misuse by involved service providers. So far, the main focus relies on theoretical concepts to propose privacy principles for robots. This article provides a privacy framework as a feasible approach to consider security and privacy issues as a basis. Thereby, the proposed privacy framework is put in the context of a user-centered design approach to highlight the correlation between the design process steps and the steps of the privacy framework. Furthermore, this article introduces feasible privacy methodologies for privacy-enhancing development to simplify the risk assessment and meet the privacy principles. Even though user participation plays an essential role in robot development, this is not the focus of this article. Even though user participation plays an essential role in robot development, this is not the focus of this article. The employed privacy methodologies are showcased in a use case of a robot as an interaction partner contrasting two different use case scenarios to encourage the importance of context awareness.

A Privacy-by-Design Implementation Methodology for E-Government

The issues of privacy and data protection are gaining in prominence, especially against the backdrop of changing citizen preferences and the enforcement of strict legislations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Pursuant both article 25 of the Regulation and following good practice, public sector institutions need to apply the principle of Privacy by Design (PbD) to their Information Systems. However, there is limited consensus on how this application is to be carried out. This article aims to fill this gap by constructing an implementation methodology with a particular focus on the e-government domain. This is done by using a design science approach leveraging practical experience and extant literature to design the methodology in accordance to user needs, existing legal requirements, and best practices. The proposed new methodology is applied to a real-life project from Bulgaria’s e-government road-map and evaluated by project stakeholders and experts.

On the advent of environmental, social and governance reporting and its intersection with privacy

An emerging area of regulation in the form of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting is aimed at long-term sustainability and addressing the challenges of climate change and social inequality. This paper explores how ESG reporting intersects in interesting ways with well-established privacy principles under the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation. The paper analyses these privacy implications in the context of the first formal ESG law of comprehensive scope — the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation — as well as existing global ESG disclosure standards. In particular the ‘S’ of ESG encompasses issues in the employment context relating to gender equality and diversity and inclusion (D&I), thereby implicating sensitive personal data and complicating the collection of such data. In addition, the paper looks towards the question of whether there is, or should be, a ‘P’ of privacy incorporated in ESG and considers the potential development of measurable privacy metrics for this purpose.

Risking Children: The Implications of Predictive Risk Analytics Across Child Protection and Policing for Vulnerable and Marginalized Children

Abstract Predictive risk models (‘PRMs’) are increasingly utilized in policing and child protection contexts to monitor, flag and assess children ‘at risk’ of victimization and/or offending. Policing and child protection PRMs focus on similar vulnerable and marginalized cohorts, strengthening the power of the State’s gaze over these groups. An analysis of the overlap between these PRMs reveals problematic State constructions of vulnerability and risk, exposing porous lines between welfare and policing agendas. This Article contends that these PRMs may result in the criminalization of vulnerable and marginalized children, thus undermining objectives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC is applied to assess implications for privacy, discrimination and child justice principles, in context with positive obligations to protect children and promote their best interests. The Article also addresses the UNCRC through a critical lens, identifying shortcomings that may undermine its potential to confront relevant harms.

Digital Right Protection Principles under Digitalization

The article deals with the main principles of protecting digital rights – a new legal category – in the digital environment. In the context of the rapid development of information and communication technologies when cyberspace becomes the platform for interaction between citizens, society, and the state, there is a need to re-evaluate traditional approaches to rights exercised through digital communications on the Internet. The purpose of the study is to examine the legal features and properties of digital rights and identify the principles for protecting digital rights online. The authors employ the general scientific dialectical method as well as the formal legal, systemic structural, and formal logical cognition methods. The synergetic method is used to identify the features and properties of digital rights, this method helps to highlight new rules and new realities in the creative potential of chaos. The authors conclude that the scope of digital legal relations has the characteristics of cross-border and virtuality, thus ensuring the protection of digital rights should be carried out considering the special properties of this environment in which subjects cannot always be identified, and objects are characterized as simulations. Digital rights are obligations and other rights, the content and the exercise of which are determined by their specific features according to the rules and functioning principles of the information and telecommunication system. The holder of a digital right can be a person who can exercise the right. The authors identify the basic principles of protecting digital rights: the digital equality principle; the digital self-determination principle; the anonymous communication principle; the principle of confidentiality of private communications; the principle of privacy in the digital environment; the principle of secrecy of digital identification; the principle of security of data obtained through facial recognition technologies; the principle of erasure of digitalized personal information.

Data Journalism and Ethics: Best Practices in the Winning Projects (DJA, OJA and Sigma Awards)

ABSTRACT Data journalism is a consolidated specialization in the newsrooms of many of the world's media outlets. Despite this, little research has been conducted on the ethical principles followed in this field of journalism. Data journalism uses different types of software to find its stories by statistically analyzing large datasets. Our research examines the winning projects of the Data Journalism Awards, Sigma Awards, and Online Journalism Awards, the last in the data journalism category, between 2012 and 2020. Using qualitative content analysis, we analyzed these projects from a three-fold ethical perspective: verification and data analysis, transparency, and privacy. Our main findings show that the winning projects complied with verification and data analysis, which is a standard practice to cross-check data from various sources and contextualize them adequately. In contrast, transparency and privacy principles were followed to a lesser extent. In light of these results, we propose that future research should focus on the perceptions of data journalists and users regarding the ethical standards that these projects meet.

​The SwissCovid Digital Proximity Tracing App after one year: Were expectations fulfilled?

​Digital proximity tracing has been promoted as a major technological innovation for its potential added benefits of greater speed, wider reach and better scalability compared with traditional manual contact tracing. First launched in Switzerland on 25 June 2020, the SwissCovid digital proximity tracing app has now been in use for more than one year. In light of this milestone, we raise the questions: What is currently known about the role of SwissCovid in mitigating the pandemic? Were the expectations fulfilled? ​In this review, we will summarise the current state of the literature from empirical studies on the adoption, performance and effectiveness of SwissCovid. The review consists of three sections. The first section summarizes findings from effectiveness studies, which suggest that SwissCovid exposure notifications contributed to preventive actions in 76% of exposure notification recipients and were associated with a faster quarantine time in some SwissCovid user groups. The second describes the public perception and current state of adoption of SwissCovid in Switzerland in light of prevalent misconceptions and overemphasised expectations. the third places the evidence on SwissCovid in an international context. Specifically, we compare key performance indicators of SwissCovid, which are of similar magnitude as for digital proximity tracing apps from other European countries. Using findings from Switzerland, we subsequently derive a preliminary measure of the population-level effectiveness of digital proximity tracing apps. We estimate that exposure notifications may have contributed to the notification and identification of 500 to 1000 SARS-CoV-2-positive app users per month. We explore why this effectiveness estimation is somewhat lower when compared with Germany or the United Kingdom. ​In light of the presented evidence, we conclude that digital proximity tracing works well in specific contexts, such as in mitigating non-household spread. However, future applications of digital proximity tracing should invest into stakeholder onboarding and increased process automatization - without deviating from the principles of voluntariness and user privacy.

Privacy practices using genetic data from cell-free DNA aneuploidy screening

PurposeCell-free fetal DNA (cfDNA) analyzes maternal and fetoplacental DNA, generating highly personal genetic information for both mother and fetus. This study aimed to determine how laboratories retain, use, and share genetic information from cfDNA. Other outcomes included laboratories’ adherence to American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) privacy principles, and the readability of privacy policies. MethodsLaboratories offering cfDNA aneuploidy screening were identified from online searches, curated databases, and a genomics news website. Of 124 laboratories identified, 13 were commercial laboratories offering cfDNA aneuploidy screening in the United States, and were included. Genetic privacy policies from eligible laboratories were identified by reviewing requisition and consent forms, which were obtained online or by direct contact. ResultsMost laboratories use prenatal genetic information for research (n = 10, 77%), and more than half (n = 7, 54%) shared genetic information with others. Overall, laboratories inadequately disclosed privacy risks. In a readability analysis, 9 of 11 (82%) laboratories’ genetic privacy policies were written at or above a 12th grade reading level. ConclusionMost laboratories allowed for prolonged use and sharing of cfDNA data, demonstrated incomplete adherence to ASHG privacy recommendations, and provided consents written in college-level language. Laboratories should revise their consent forms, and providers should help patients understand these forms.

Social Media Guidelines for Young Plastic Surgeons and Plastic Surgery Training Programs.

Social media are a powerful tool that creates a unique opportunity for the young plastic surgeon and trainee to share content, brand oneself, educate the public, and develop one's own professional voice early. The majority of all plastic surgery programs and particularly those that are highly ranked have social media opportunities for their residents, yet clear rules to guide implementation of social media programming in residency have remained unspecified. These guidelines and pitfalls can be used to inform a productive and professional entry into plastic surgery social media use for the resident and young plastic surgeon. Details regarding specific platform use to maximize exposure are provided. The core principles of patient safety and privacy, authentic photography, plastic surgery education and advocacy, and professionalism inform these guidelines. Pitfalls include establishment of an online physician-patient relationship, engaging in debate by means of online reviews, providing medical entertainment, and engaging in non-plastic surgery politics. Use of these guidelines will allow the young plastic surgeon and trainee to succeed by means of social media platforms in an ethical and professional manner.

Mapping the online songbird trade in Indonesia

Wildlife trade, when unsustainable, can be an important threat to biodiversity conservation. In this contribution, we explored the use of digital data to investigate the online market for songbirds in Indonesia, where keeping pet songbirds is a deeply rooted cultural practice. We examined the spatial characteristics of three dimensions of the songbird trade using data from online sources: birdwatchers’ sightings as a proxy for the supply of the songbird market, small advertisements from an online marketplace platform, representing the trade itself and its transactions, and videos by pet songbird owners to represent the demand side of the songbird market. We found that, geographically, these three stages of the songbird supply chain did not overlap, which potentially hints at the roles extended transport networks and commercial captive breeding play for the songbird trade. The trade was not confined to major cities but spread out through the country, indicating both a possible democratisation of the trade (i.e. a larger group of sellers, and consumers selling to consumers) and an opportunity to observe previously covert parts of the trade. We further found that the asking prices on online marketplaces were significantly higher than the prices stated in an independently carried out consumer survey and discuss possible reasons for these differences. Data from digital sources can give rich insights into the spatial, temporal and taxonomic structure of wildlife trade, can help understand the motivations of buyers and sellers, and can help direct wildlife trade towards a more sustainable fashion. Our methodology toolbox that allows automatic and continuous monitoring of online marketplaces, includes data preparation and cleaning, and follows the highest standards of data privacy principles, is openly available.

Privacy Of Dwelling House In Islam As A Guide To Housing Development

The dwelling house is part of the basic needs of human life. In Islam, the designation of a place as a dwelling house has its importance. The dwelling house is not only seen as a sanctuary for oneself and his property, but it is also significant in providing space for privacy. This paper aims to discuss privacy related to a dwelling house in Islamic jurisprudence. The discussion will focus on the importance of the privacy rules for a dwelling house to guide the parties involved in housing development. The type of research is qualitative with a socio-historical approach. The results indicate that Islam provides a balance between social life and the need to be alone. The principles of privacy for a dwelling house not only show the security of shariah objectives, but they also guide the construction industry with divine guidance in sustainable human development.

A new privacy framework for the management of chronic diseases via mHealth in a post-Covid-19 world.

AimNew challenges are being faced by global healthcare systems such as an increase in the elderly population, budget cuts as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As pressures mount on healthcare systems to provide treatment to patients, mHealth is seen as one of the possible solutions to addressing these challenges. Given the sensitivity of health data, the rapid development of the mHealth sector raises privacy concerns. The aims of this research were to investigate privacy threats/concerns in the context of mHealth and the management of chronic diseases and to propose a novel privacy framework to address these concerns.Subject and methodThe study adopted a modified version of the engineering design process. After defining the problem, information was gathered through literature reviews, and analyses of existing regulatory (privacy) frameworks and past research on privacy threats/concerns. Requirements for a new framework were then specified leading to its development and comparison with existing frameworks.ResultsA novel future-proof privacy framework was developed and illustrated. Using existing regulatory frameworks for privacy and privacy threats/concerns from research studies, privacy principles and their resulting requirements were identified. Furthermore, mechanisms and associated technologies needed to implement the privacy principles/requirements into a functional prototype were also identified. A comparison of the proposed framework with existing frameworks, showed that it addressed privacy threats/concerns in a more comprehensive manner.ConclusionThis research makes a valuable contribution to protecting privacy in mHealth. The novel framework developed is an improvement on existing frameworks. It is also future-proof since its foundations are built on regulatory frameworks and privacy threats/concerns existing at the time of its deployment/revision.