Fading data could improve privacy
Privacy could be enhanced if data was allowed to fade, suggests research.
Dutch researcher Dr Harold van Heerde is looking into ways to gradually “degrade” the information that sites gather about visitors. Slowly swapping details for more general information can help guard against accidental disclosure, he said.
“There are so many weak points in security that you can never be sure that your data is safe,” said Dr van Heerde.
‘Data danger’
[...] The dangers of having data about us stored more or less permanently in many different places around the web have been proved many times when that information is leaked by accident or design, said Dr van Heerde.
“People make mistakes, people can be bribed,” he said. “You cannot protect this data, you cannot be sure it’s not been disclosed, privacy policies are simply too weak.” [...] At initial use to secure a transaction or get useful information from a search all relevant details might be stored. Subsequently details would slowly be swapped for more general information.
[...] As well as limiting the impact of any disclosure, such a policy might also force companies to be more explicit about what data they gather and what they will use it for. “In most cases there’s no good reason for them storing data for so long,” he said.
By Mark Ward, Technology correspondent, BBC News, Wed. June 16 2010
