The International Organization for Secure Electronic Transactions OISTE.ORG , a Geneva, Switzerland non for profit organization, mobilizes the public

The International Organization for Secure Electronic Transactions OISTE.ORG , a Geneva, Switzerland non for profit organization, mobilizes the public and private sector towards a global information privacy standard approach to enable accountability in the flow of data.

OISTE.ORG is working since 1998 with public and private organizations mobilizingthem towards the creation of a global standard on privacy. Privacy is a central issue in the convergent and ubiquitous world. Countries clearly recognize the inherent challenge that the present expansion of the Internet with its invisible, intuitive and pervasive system of networked computers holds for current social norms and values concerning privacy and surveillance.

Privacy is generally considered by the majority of governments and private sector institutions to be an indispensable ingredient for democratic societies and economic development. There is no clear standard for Privacy as it can be consider a new fenemenum and a inherent challenge from ubiquitous computing, at least as it stands as a design concept today,

There are five universal common concepts which could be associated to the definition of privacy and use as a base for the elaboration of an international standard. These concepts are: Privacy, Anonymity, Surveillance , Security and Trust. Privacy and and ‘anonymity’ are related concepts, but with some important differences. With respect to communications, privacy implies the personal possession of personal information and the subsequent terms and conditions by which it is used, retained, and disclosed to others. Anonymity, however, implies an absence of information about a person and relates to the terms and conditions by which such information might be collected in the first instance. Both concepts highlight the importance of empowering people to control information about themselves. ‘Surveillance’ is also related to privacy, but implies something quite specific as the intentional observation of
someone’s actions or the intentional gathering of personal information in order to observe actions taken in
the past or future. Unwanted surveillance is usually taken to be an invasion of privacy. This concept
highlights the importance of privacy as a utility that protects people against unwanted intrusions and the right to be left alone. ‘Security’ is a term often used in software development to describe the capability of a technical system to protect and maintain the integrity of personal data circulating within that system. Privacy violations can occur when a system is not secure and it leaks personal data to unauthorized parties. This concept highlights the importance of providing regulating mechanisms to balance and check powers of those that provide and those that collect data. Finally, the term ‘trust’ suggests the quality of a reciprocal relationship between two or more parties with respect to the use and disclosure of personal information and the respect of privacy rights. This concept highlights the importance of dignity and mutual obligations between human beings (often interacting through corporate or other bureaucratic systems)

More information on how to join the OISTE working group on Privacy standardization please visit www.oiste.org