Last Thursday, I participated in the Privacy Tweet Chat led by @OracleIDM, featuring Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Canada, tweeting as @embedprivacy.  The #PrivQA chat archive is available now on Storify.

I always enjoy these tweet chats, and invariably learn more than I contribute.  Perhaps the key insight I gained in this chat is summarized in this tweet that I posted later in the chat:

Privacy is freedom to decide how my data is used. Security is the mechanism to enable and protect that freedom of choice. #PrivQA

After reading the white paper, “Privacy and Security by Design, A Convergence of Paradigms,” this week, I pinged a couple of associates on Twitter to see what they thought about Privacy by Design.  Steve Wilson replied to the effect that “We need more than principles.  We need implementable requirements.”

When I met with  Ann Cavoukian yesterday, I asked her about that viewpoint.  She agreed that we need to step beyond principles to requirements to implementation.  She gave me a copy of a paper published last December by the PdB team, entitled, “ Operationalizing Privacy by Design: A Guide to Implementing Strong Privacy Practices.”  This paper doesn’t provide all the answers, but begins to explore how privacy is being implemented in 9 application area:

1. CCTV/Surveillance Cameras in Mass Transit Systems
2. Biometrics Used in Casinos and Gaming Facilities
3. Smart Meters and the Smart Grid
4. Mobile Devices & Communications
5. Near Field Communications (NFC)
6. RFIDs and Sensor Technologies
7. Redesigning IP Geolocation Data
8. Remote Home Health Care
9. Big Data and Data Analytics

Interestingly enough, when Marc Chanliau shared with me a his unpublished report from which came the security content for the “Privacy and Security by Design” paper, it was gratifying to see the title he had selected for that larger report: “Requirements for Enterprise Security.”

There is much to do, but progress is being made.

Today I had the privilege of having lunch with Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada, along with Jack Crail, Oracle Director of Security Sales Consulting for the Western US.  It was a pleasure to have a delightful lunch, sitting outside in the deliciously warm springtime air in Scottsdale, AZ.  We explored many topics of mutual interest, but focused primarily on the concepts in the white paper, “Privacy and Security by Design, A Convergence of Paradigms,” published recently by Dr. Cavoukian and Marc Chanliau, Director, Product Management with Oracle.

I had prepared the following matrix which shows remarkably close alignment with the seven foundational principles of Privacy by Design and how these principles could also apply to Information Security.  We recognize that the scope of security is broader than privacy, but the needs to proactively build security into all the technology and processes we create are remarkably similar.

In this matrix, row 5 (End-to-end security) shows where security and privacy interact.  In fact, end-to-end security is a necessary enabler for privacy.  The other rows begin to explore how a Security by Design approach can align with and support Privacy by Design.

While this matrix is just in draft form, I believe it can help us discuss how  the goals and solutions of privacy and security can be aligned in a meaningful way.  

If any on you would like to offer any suggestions for improvements, please let me know.

An interesting new report came to my attention today, “ Unlocking the Value of Personal Datra: From Collection to Usage,” published by the  World Economic Forum, prepared in collaboration with  The Boston Consulting Group.

Some statements from the executive summary that I like include:

Our world is changing. It is complex, hyperconnected, and increasingly driven by insights derived from big data. And the rate of change shows no sign of slowing.

… the economic and social value of big data does not come just from its quantity. It also comes from its quality – the ways in which individual bits of data can be interconnected to reveal new insights with the potential to transform business and society.

… fully tapping that potential holds much promise, and much risk.

… It is up to the individuals and institutions of various societies to govern and decide how to unlock the value – both economic and social – and ensure suitable protections

The report is organized as follows

• Chapter 1: The World Is Changing
• Chapter 2: The Need for a New Approach
• Chapter 3: Principles for the Trusted Flow of Personal Data
• Chapter 4: Principles into Practice
• Appendix – Relevant Use Cases

It is particularly interesting to me that although there are numerous examples about the potential benefits of big data, there are huge challenges, and no easy fixes.  But the report is well written and provocative.  Well worth the time to read.

Plus as an added bonus, the report has some great pictures and graphics – a treat seldom seen in a report like this.  Here is my favorite – it seems to capture the spirit of the crazy world of privacy and security we are in right now.

In the Oracle Information InDepth newsletter I just received, a new white paper, “Privacy and Security by Design: A Convergence of Paradigms,” was announced. The paper is a collaboration of Ann Cavoukian, Ph.D., Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ontario, Canada, and Marc Chanliau, Director, Product Management, Oracle Corporation.

The forward by Ms. Cavoukian includes this statement:

My hope is that privacy and security – by design, will continue to evolve into an essential component of information technologies and operational practices of organizations, as well as becoming an integral part of entire systems of data governance and privacy protection.

The paper further explains the value of these converging topics:

This paper highlights the convergence of these two paradigms. In the first part, the concept of security by design as understood in the technical community is introduced. In the second, the concept of Privacy by Design (PbD) as understood in the privacy community is discussed. The third and final part explores how these two concepts share notable similarities and how they may complement and mutually reinforce each other.

The paper provides a good overview of Security by Design …

… we address three aspects of security by design: i) software security assurance (designing software systems that are secure from the ground up and minimizing the impact of system breach when a security vulnerability is discovered) ; ii) preserving privacy in the enterprise environment and; iii) ensuring identity across heterogeneous vendors.

… and Privacy by Design.

Privacy by Design … is aimed at preventing privacy violations from arising in the first place. PbD is based on seven (7) Foundational Principles. It emphasizes respect for user privacy and the need to embed privacy as a default condition. It also preserves a commitment to functionality in a doubly-enabling ‘win-win, ’ or positive-sum strategy. This approach transforms consumer privacy issues from a pure policy or compliance issue into a business imperative.

The paper concludes:

It is becoming widely recognized that privacy and security must both be embedded, by default, into the architecture, design and construction of information processes. This is a central motivation for PbD, which is aimed at reducing the risk of a privacy harm from arising in the first place. By taking a proactive approach, it is possible to demonstrate that it is indeed possible (and far more desirable) to have privacy and security! Why settle for one when you can have both?

I found the paper to be thoughtful and timely. By coincidence, this morning I committed to an event next week where I will meet Ms. Cavoukian. I look forward to it!

Oracle recently released a white paper entitled, “Oracle Access Manager Mobile and Social, A Case Study – Piggy Bank.”  This white paper outlines the use of the Mobile and Social component of the Oracle Access Management platform.  Mobile and Social provides a simple means to integrate Mobile applications with the security capabilities provided by Oracle’s Identity and Access Management platform.

The white paper:

discusses the effort involved in executing a Proof of Concept with a major international bank. While the PoC exercise was real and the requirements described in this paper implemented, certain details have been changed to protect the identity of the bank and its security architecture and simplified for those new to OAM Mobile and Social.

The Proof of Concept detailed in this white paper involved three main tasks:

1. creating a simple electronic banking application
2. the REST/JSON services for the application
3. securing the application and services with the Oracle IAM technology stack.

The “Piggy Bank” represents the bank for which the Proof of Concept was completed.  The basic PoC architecture is shown below:

The white paper does a good job of outlining just what is necessary to configure the components in this architecture.

The white paper concludes:

While the PiggyBank application is quite simple, it illustrates the power and capabilities of the Oracle Identity and Access Management platform including Oracle Access Manager, Oracle Adaptive Access Manager and some of the Mobile and Social Services. By using the OAM Mobile and Social SDK a fully functional mobile e-Banking application was created and secured in a very short time, without the need to install and configure any additional software and without the need to write complex code to secure the mobile App and its communication to the services it uses. 

A customer with an existing security infrastructure based on Oracle Access Manager and Adaptive Access Manager can easily deploy Oracle Mobile and Social to extend the same security capabilities to mobile applications. By using the Mobile and Social SDK customers can seamlessly integrate security into their native Apps on popular mobile platforms including iOS and Android.

The need for secure mobile access is already huge and growing rapidly.   The Oracle Mobile and Social product goes a long way towards meeting that demand.

My Dad once told me, “If you keep your eyes and ears open, you’ll learn something new every day.”

Today, I stumbled across that new thing on Twitter.  Thank you @rmogull, for pointing out @451wendy‘s blog, “Idoneous Security.”

What a great word! It describes just how much security we need – the appropriate amount.  Not too much, not too little, just idoneous.

Plus, for good measure, Wendy’s blog post today was hilarious.

The following excellent infographic produced by AMD Cloud Computing Research shows some interesting statistics about the adoption of cloud computing, based on AMD’s Global Cloud Computing Study.  I was interested to see that while 60% of respondents say they are currently using some form of cloud computing, 63% of respondents specified Security as the biggest risk.

Enjoy!

Recently, Jack Crail and I gave a joint presentation at the SecurePhoenix event sponsored by (ICS)2, the folks who oversee the CISSP certification.

Our presentation was based on a whitepaper entitled “The Business Justification for Data Security,” published by Securosis, which outlined a five step process for evaluating data security investments, mapping the potential investment to business needs and building a business justification case.

More to come as I explore some of these topics …

Technorati Tags: Information Security, Business Justification

Please join us for a set of informative discussions about Information Security in the Oracle Security Online Forum, sponsored by Oracle and Accenture, where leading industry executives and Oracle product experts will come together to discuss security trends, best practices, and proven solutions for your business.

The illustrious lineup includes:

• Mary Ann Davidson, Oracle’s Chief Security Officer—on industry-leading standards, technologies, and practices that ensure that Oracle products—and your entire system—remain as secure as possible
• Jeff Margolies, Partner, Accenture’s Security Practice—on key security trends and solutions to prepare for in 2011 and beyond
• Tom Kyte, Senior Technical Architect and Oracle Database Guru—on how you can safeguard your enterprise application data with Oracle’s Database Security solutions
• Vipin Samar, Vice President of Oracle Database Security Solutions—on new approaches to protecting data and database infrastructure against evolving threats
• Nishant Kaushik, Oracle’s Chief Identity Strategist—on how organizations can use Oracle Identity Management solutions to reduce fraud and streamline compliance

Additionally, security solution experts will be on live chat throughout the event to answer your toughest questions.

You can register for the event here.

Hope to “see” you there.