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Showing posts from May, 2015

Confidentiality - Is it a fantasy?

What is confidential information?   What do we want to keep confidential?   The Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) has a few ideas around the subject.  (See below).  The question is “Is it possible?” or has the computer/social networking age changed the rules of privacy for ever?  Besides the high profile whistle blowers, we are exposed both personally and professionally at every turn.     Contractual agreements  While companies can get staff to sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and tie them up contractually, it is a tough ask to get people who live their lives through social networking to accept the weight of keeping private information under wraps.  When you are applying for a visa or a cell phone, you are required to give 3 months of bank statements.   Who looks at these?   We assume they have signed confidentiality agreements, but where are they stored?  It is my view that there is a chain of logistics around signed paperwork that is almost impossibl