CybersecurityNew expert network to advice organizations on how to keep data safe

A new expert network which helps organizations safely manage and share sensitive data has been launched.

The U.K. Anonymization Network (UKAN) will advise organizations and companies on how to minimize the risk that personal details of individual people are inadvertently revealed when data are used to create valuable services.

A University of Southampton release reports that it was initiated and funded by the U.K. Information Commissioner, supported by the University of Southampton, the University of Manchester, the Open Data Institute, and the U.K. Office for National Statistics.

The network aims to establish best practice in anonymization and offer practical advice and information to anyone who handles personal data and needs to share it. This is particularly relevant in sectors such as health, education, and policing.

It will advise on technological issues, issues relating to the Freedom of Information Act, and how researchers can access sensitive data.

Its core membership of experienced professional information managers and leading privacy researchers will help provide case studies and examples of best practice.

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, of the University of Southampton and chairman and co-founder of the Open Data Institute, said: “If we are to harness the power of open data to support innovative services, increase accountability and empower citizens, we will need to ensure trust is retained.

“If data is available online, then the public must be confident that citizens’ personal details will remain concealed.”

The Network will help organizations deliver the U.K. government’s Transparency Initiative, which promotes greater openness of government departments, public bodies, companies, and other institutions.

It is led by Dr. Mark Elliot, based at the University of Manchester.

Dr. Elliot said: “Because technology is rapidly changing, and because so many more organizations collect data nowadays, information privacy is one of the big issues facing society.

“There are many positive things associated with these changes but things can go wrong, so we must ensure they happen in the right way and effective anonymization is a vital part of that.”

Christopher Graham, U.K. Information Commissioner, said: “If correctly deployed, anonymized data can have important benefits - aiding privacy by design, increasing the transparency of government and supporting the U.K.’s widely regarded research community. It is vital that existing and emerging data protection risks are properly assessed by data controllers who wish to anonymize data.

“The work of UKAN will help build on the recommendations laid down in the ICO’s data protection code of practice on managing the risks related to anonymization which we published last year. The network will also provide important best practice advice on how data can be successfully anonymized in compliance with the UK Data Protection Act.”