Privacy Practices Are Worth Another LookPrivacy Practices Are Worth Another Look

A wary country is debating the virtues and pitfalls of national ID cards, facial-recognition systems, and the sharing of sensitive personal data across government agencies. Media coverage of these issues is making consumers more aware of privacy issues than ever. And perhaps it will lead customers to more closely question the privacy policies of the businesses they use.

Companies may need to redouble the emphasis they place on customer privacy. In a report by the Sageza Group, formerly Zona Research, published before last month's terrorist attacks, 100 security professionals say their companies aren't very concerned about offering Web customers an opportunity to opt out of sharing their personal information with third parties.

Companies are nevertheless working to ensure that the customer information they collect doesn't fall into unauthorized hands. Of highest interest among survey participants is protecting customer data that companies have already stored electronically. But respondents say their companies had only a middling concern for liability issues related to practices involving customer data collection.

While more than half the companies surveyed provide notices of privacy policies, fewer than half tell people what they're doing with the data they collect.

Respondents aren't averse to having the government step in to enforce stronger privacy policies. In all, 58% of those polled either somewhat or strongly agree that the government should require Web sites that collect personal data to comply with minimal privacy guidelines. In contrast, only 19% say that industry privacy-seal programs provide sufficient privacy protection.

How important is maintaining customer privacy to your company? Let us know at the address below.

Jennifer Zaino
Senior News Editor
[email protected]

Outsourced Security

What solutions are companies backing to ensure that privacy objectives are achieved? Among the 100 security professionals interviewed in Sageza Group's report, Internet Privacy: How Businesses Are Bridging Troubled Waters, authentication technologies and security filters are fairly common. Yet Sageza expects that as privacy solutions evolve beyond conventional security models, professional consulting services will play a more prominent a role in the installation and maintenance of privacy-related technologies and software. But that remains to be seen. Few companies polled are relying on outside partnerships to manage their privacy initiatives, with only one in five saying they now have such an arrangement.