Today is Privacy Day, a good time to reflect on the importance of this. A working group at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences is constantly working to safeguard our digital security.
This year, this Privacy & Security working group wants to make students and employees more aware of possible data leaks, which often turn out to be in a small corner. We also discuss your digital legacy. Privacy Officer Luc Petersen comes across them regularly, data leaks.
Luc, can you give an example of a data breach in teaching?
“During class, one of the teachers made video recordings of his hard-working students and the great results that all that work yielded. He then proudly posted those images on a YouTube channel that is often used by the study program. He stated afterwards, he wanted to use the recordings to show not only the students themselves but also interested parties how the assignment was carried out and what the end result was. Some of his videos were quickly viewed more than 400 times.
What the teacher didn’t realize, however, was that some of the shots showed much more. Private details of some students were also visible, such as their student number, first name, last name and sometimes a photo. One of the students lodged a complaint about this. ”
What happens if you file a complaint about privacy?
“Our Data Breach Response Team must investigate reported data breaches, find out what happened, stop the leak, find out what happened and prevent a recurrence. After the data breach had been identified, it was reported to the national supervisory authority, the Dutch Data Protection Authority. All students involved were subsequently notified that the data breach has been reported and that their personal data has been removed from the YouTube channel. They were also advised to be careful not to receive e-mail messages that they could not identify properly. It goes without saying that the relevant teacher has been informed. ”
Luc Petersen, Privacy Officer: “With the combination of student number, name and photo you can commit identity fraud with disastrous consequences”.
What does the law say about recording?
“Visualizing students, but of course also employees, and then sharing those recordings with others is only allowed if they have been informed about this in advance and if they have explicitly agreed to this. For example, the program must also take extra measures to protect privacy by, for example, blurring private data or keeping it out of the picture. ”
What is the danger if my private data is leaked via social media?
“Posting personal information on YouTube or similar platforms presents quite a few risks. Especially when, as here, private data such as student numbers and names are filmed. With the combination of student number, name and photo, malicious parties can try to commit identity fraud, send spam to the e-mail address of these students or send phishing e-mail with sometimes disastrous consequences. ”
What happens to your social media profiles when you are no longer there?
As part of the Day of Privacy, the Care for Relatives Lectorate published three videos about digital legacy, providing food for thought.
What happens to the photos on your phone if you suddenly die? Who is allowed to read your e-mails when you are no longer there? And what should happen with your social media accounts after you die? You probably prefer not to think about it, but what happens to your online life when your offline life ends? The lectorate wants to encourage people to think about their digital legacy. In order to prevent conflicts or to not leave next of kin with extra worries.
Videos with a dilemma
The three films always present a different dilemma. An example is Peter’s online memorial page. He died of cancer and left a Facebook page with hundreds of photos of his wife and (adolescent) children. His wife finds it valuable to keep the page in the air, but the children are increasingly disappointed that everyone can see their photos.
This article is a submitted message and is not the responsibility of the editor.
–
–
