Data Protection

data protection

It’s Data and Contracts all the Way Down!

The Tallaght Hospital story is a salutatory tale of what can go wrong when engaging third parties to perform any service for your organisation. Left to their own devices and absent any control or governance framework that can verify that what is to be done has been done (in its entirety) and has been done …

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Turd Polishing

In the course of a twitter conversation with Jim Harris I used the phrase “turd polishing” to describe what happens when organisations try to implement check-box based data governance or Compliance programmes, or invest in business intelligence or analytics strategies without fixing the data which under pins those strategies addressing the organisational cultural and structural …

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The missing link in Compliance and Governance

Over the years I’ve done a lot of work in the area of Regulatory Compliance and Information Quality. Whether it is Data Protection, Information Quality, Governance or Compliance, it is important to bear in mind that what we are dealing with a Quality Management System: Data Protection Compliance is the Quality System where by the …

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New Rules, Old Principles

This was first posted on the Irish Computer Society Data Protection Blog. I am republishing it here as it is my original work and I am putting all my Data Protection musings in one place. So, the revised e-Privacy Directive has been given legal effect as of 1st July (only a little over a month …

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The Cookie Monster Cometh

First published on the Irish Computer Society Data Protection Blog. Republished here as it is my original work and I’m putting all my Data Protection musings in one place. So, this day next week (26th May) will see the introduction into Irish Law of Directive 2009/136/EC. It’s a tweak to the existing electronic privacy regulations. …

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Data Breach Code of Practice

A while back I had the privilege of being part of a group who formulated submissions to the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the Data Security Breach Code of Practice. That Code of Practice was presented to the Minister for Justice in July 2010, long before the dissolution of the Dáil in January 2011. There was …

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In the interest of Electoral Balance

I’ve written previously about Fine Gael and their issues with avoiding Data Protection pitfalls during this current General Election. Some people might have gotten the impression that I’m obsessed with Fine Gael. I’m not. I’m obsessed with Data, specifically the management of data and information in manner that ensures quality outcomes through quality data governed …

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There is oft a slip twixt tweet and twolicy

This blog post is basically the text of an audioboo I recorded at 9:30 this morning which has disappeared into the ether ne’er to be found. Fine Gael have launched their “Twolicy Page”. I won’t comment on the hideous neologistic portmanteau that is “Twolicy”, other than to say it that seems to have been dreamed …

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If you’re going to wave a sword, know where the pointy bit is

Over the weekend two Irish newspapers (Irish Examiner and Sunday Tribune) reported that one of our leading Trade Unions had filed a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner on behalf of staff who had received letters by courier from their employer with whom they are engaged in an industrial relations dispute. While I’m all in …

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