Commissioner Cavoukian calls for a paradigm shift in how we protect privacy:
It's time to Reboot and raise the bar

TORONTO , Feb. 8 /CNW/ - The future of privacy will require a paradigm shift: regulation alone will be unsustainable for ensuring privacy going forward in to the world of the cloud, says Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian .

"Our collective focus will need to shift to offering proactive protections that embed privacy as the default," said Commissioner Cavoukian. In a keynote speech to the 11th Annual Privacy and Security Conference in Victoria, B.C., February 9 (www.rebootconference.com), the Commissioner will outline her 7 Foundational Principles, together with other steps that are needed to supplement legislation in order to protect privacy.

She will challenge the 600-plus security and privacy experts at this international conference to take steps to embed privacy into the design of technology and business practices - a concept that the Commissioner calls Privacy by Design.

Dr. Cavoukian is speaking on the opening day of the annual Reboot conference, spearheading three different privacy presentations. She will be delivering a keynote address, as well as moderating two panels - one on Cloud Computing, the other on Biometrics. In the two panels, the Commissioner will be focusing on how privacy protection can be strengthened in these fields by embracing positive-sum solutions (which offer privacy alongside security and functionality), where privacy is secured as the default.

"Privacy by Design - a concept I developed back in the '90s - was not intended as a theoretical construct," says the Commissioner. "It was developed to introduce real change into our everyday lives - advancing practical privacy, and that is what I will be urging those at the conference to adopt."

Commissioner Cavoukian's keynote presentation includes a call to action for those in attendance to become Privacy by Design Ambassadors: "Within your organization, identify an emerging technology, business practice or infrastructure that intersects with personally identifiable information and work toward building in the principles of Privacy by Design. Ambassadors will be recognized, and will be able to share ideas, on the website www.privacybydesign.ca."

For further information: Media Contact: Bob Spence, Communications Co-ordinator, Direct line: [phone]; Cell phone: [phone]; Toll free: 1-800-387-0073, [email protected]