The research group in Software Engineering, Formal Methods and Security of the Department of information engineering and computer science at the University of Trento, led by prof. Paolo Giorgini, announces the launch of the VisiOn project, an EU-funded initiative which will lead to the creation of a technology platform for visual privacy management, aimed at giving citizens/users full awareness of the use of their personal data. The platform will be provided to local and central Public Administrations and will allow citizens of the Union to directly manage and monitor their privacy through a personal agreement with the PA.
The platform will allow the user to clearly and intuitively express his privacy preferences and settings, to get to know of potential threats and other trust-related aspects, and finally to be aware of the monetary value of his personal data. From the organizations’ point of view, the platform will provide an overview of citizens’ expectations and of the privacy levels to comply with. Thanks to the VisiOn platform, PAs will have tools and indicators to improve the transparency of their operations and to improve their accountability to the citizen.
Open and dynamic online services such as Cloud Computing, Big Data and the Internet of Things have made exchanging information easy and simple, with 24/7 availability. Conversely, especially among private citizens, there is a certain reluctance to use such services, mainly because there is a strong perception of losing control over one’s personal information. This scenario becomes all the more complex when dealing with Public Administrations, which deal with the data of millions of citizens who don’t even have the option of denying use of their data, as is the case with commercial organisations.
This is why there is a global interest in improving the operations, services and efficiency of Public Administrations worldwide. In managing the public’s data, PAs need to be transparent, should provide secure and reliable services and be accountable to citizens.
“Privacy can be defined in many ways; the common perception of the concept can be summed up in a person’s right to be left alone, but specifically, VisiOn will deal with offering citizens the chance of checking, modifying, managing and deleting information about themselves, and to decide how and on which terms this information may be communicated to third parties”, said Loredana Mancini, Chief Operating Officer of Business-e and Coordinator of the VisiOn Consortium. “Protecting privacy takes place non just by securing personal information, but also by creating a trustful relationship between the citizen and the PA”.
The main goal of VisiOn is to produce an integrated technology platform supporting the visual analysis of a citizen’s privacy needs vis a vis the public administration, by defining and monitoring specific PLAs (Privacy Level Agreements), improving citizens’ trust in the online services offered by their PA.
The VisiOn consortium is led by Business-e and includes 11 organizations from six different countries of the EU: as well as Business-e, it comprises hospitals (Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù e Military Medical Academy), universities (University of Brighton and Università degli studi di Trento), public administrations (Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, National Center For Scientific Research “DEMOKRITOS and Dimos Athinaion Epicheirisi Michanografisis) and private companies (ATOS Spain SA, Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft ZUR Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V e VELTI Anonymi Etaireia Proionton Logismikou & Synafon Prionton & Piresion). The project kicked off at the beginning of July 2015 and represents the starting point for organising the project’s activities, which should come to completion within two years, delivering an effective and innovative product.
For further information:
http://www.visionEUproject.eu