17 December 2012

Mauritius: Safeguarding Privacy – Workshop focuses on Data Protection


A one-day Workshop on Data Loss Prevention Software, Cloud Computing, Social Networking and Forensic Investigation, opened this morning at Le Maritim Hotel in Balaclava.

Organised at an initiative of the Data Protection Office, Prime Minister’s Office, the workshop has as objective to sensitise data controllers, data processors and data subjects on the need to safeguard privacy by understanding the impact of latest technologies on their personal data.

Presentations is focusing on Cloud Security in Government; Cloud Computing, Social Networking and Online Behavioural Advertising; Forensic Detection Tools on Data Breaches; Clearwell - IT forensics; Deepsight Threat Con; Data Loss Prevention Software – Mauritius DPO Template; Bhumishq Data Centre & Cloud Services from a Data Protection Perspective – Sharing the Experience; and, The Role of ISACA (Information Systems Audit & Control Association) in promoting Data Privacy through Information Systems.

In his address, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Mr Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, said that today we are living in a world where computer speed is growing so fast that security and privacy issues have become the most important concerns of the ICT sector.  Technology is being used to transfer huge databases of information electronically within a fraction of a second, he noted.

The Minister stressed the need for protecting personal, sensitive and confidential data, which he said, has become the primary concern of all organisations to maintain confidentiality, availability and integrity of information.  All enterprises are required to take the appropriate measures to ensure data security and protection wherever data is being used and/or stored either across networks, storage or endpoint systems, added Mr Pillay Chedumbrum.

For her part, the Data Protection Commissioner, Mrs Drudeisha Madhub stated that the world is faced today, through minute and acute globalisation, with the threats associated with the ignorant use of technology which present data protection and privacy risks.  The internet in particular, she observed, has presented challenges to the protection of people’s privacy and the protection of their data, especially combined with the increasing use of mobile devices.

‘Data protection is the modern fundamental human right of the digital age and will remain so for the future years to come, with its own specificities and complexities requiring a particularly specialised institution to cater for its enforcement’, stressed Mrs Madhub.

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