Data protection in times of global networking
The right of every person to be able to decide exclusively for themselves about the use of personal or personal data has become an increasingly important issue for people in all cultural communities since the 1960s at the latest. What, when, by whom, to what extent, personal information worthy of protection was and is stored or even passed on to others has always not always been completely clear or even transparent for citizens. In addition, many people harbored the suspicion, which is still growing today, that what is permitted by law is probably not strictly adhered to in all cases and by all companies and public institutions; This may sometimes simply be due to ignorance of the exact regulations or a lack of really consistent implementation of guidelines and own concepts.
Growing need for communication – growing security requirements
In times of galloping globalization, the problem surrounding data is now taking on completely different dimensions and is presenting people with completely new challenges. Around 1.3 billion people use the Internet regularly today, consciously or unconsciously revealing a large amount of sometimes extremely (!) personal information; In companies, customer databases are kept, including personal hobbies, preferences, even political opinions and, in the social networks that have become popular, even questionable self-portrayals of an even more precarious nature, data is collected and passed on for market research and advertising purposes, and user behavior on the Internet is evaluated and can be reported on In theory, the clearly assignable computer address on the network can even be directly linked to a specific person; In the future, when terms are entered into an Internet search engine, they will be immediately analyzed so that the user can be immediately bombarded with advertising banners tailored to their needs; Large online mail order companies have long been using a similar option in a much less spectacular way and in an effective way. Phrases like “You might also like this” or “Other customers also looked at the following products” sound like friendly offers of support from particularly helpful and service-oriented service providers, but they also give an idea of the high complexity and accuracy of the evaluation machinery that is constantly running in the background.
Music of the future with wrong sounds
Many people do not seem to be fully aware of the risks that increasing, often self-inflicted, “transparentness” poses to oneself and the undesirable purposes for which it can be used. Of course, there is no question that a variety of ways to make everyday life easier are possible; In this context, one thinks of online shopping, online banking, refrigerators that order food independently or the blessings of the new ID card with its many useful or less useful functions; Nor will anyone question the fact that many political interventions in informational self-determination have led and could have led to the thwarting of criminal offenses or even violent terrorist projects; Balancing interests and maintaining the principle of appropriateness seem to be the first order of the day here.
Highest sense of responsibility – data protection at ISE
For educational institutes such as the ISE Sprach- und Berufsbildungszentrum GmbH and the private vocational school for geriatric care, Altenpflegehilfe of ISE GmbH (non-profit), special responsibility arises from the current legal situation and in view of the rapidly growing global network. Information about customers and course participants is necessarily collected in many areas and must often be stored and processed for a certain period of time for a variety of purposes, or must be available for other necessary administrative processes. Particular care and careful consideration are required in connection with information about the people who entrust themselves to the ISE Sprach- und Berufsbildungszentrum GmbH or the private vocational school for geriatric care, geriatric care assistance of ISE GmbH. This often involves sensitive data, since, for example, the storage and processing of CVs, often including photographs, as well as the management of forms with very personal content, and administrative databases are essential for intensive and successful, sometimes career-long, support. However, this is exactly what ISE customers and course participants rightly expect. Grades, examination results and successes are of course also part of the extremely sensitive data treasure of an educational institution such as ISE GmbH or the private vocational school of ISE GmbH; When dealing with this, the greatest possible care must be taken to ensure the best possible protection and the most careful considerations must be made about the need for temporary storage in particular - in line with legal regulations and the customers' personal expectations. The fact that such responsibility is taken extremely seriously at ISE is demonstrated not only by the data protection measures that have long been implemented, but also by the fact that these are in a continuous improvement process. The basic philosophy of ISE GmbH and the private vocational school of ISE GmbH is that the constantly changing requirements can and should only be responded to with a high degree of willingness and that the processes in the educational institute are subject to constant “good change” (Japanese Kaizen ) to subjugate. Of course, ISE's top priority is not only to meet the legal and strict certification requirements, but also to constantly check for practical effectiveness and additional opportunities for improvement in the interests of our customers and course participants.
Data protection – a responsibility of every individual
Ultimately, today more than ever, changing times require society as a whole to rethink how we interact with one another and respect the individual and their privacy. As numerous larger and even smaller data breaches worldwide and the experiences of many citizens show, legal requirements no longer seem to always offer sufficient protection or can in practice be circumvented through backdoors. Unfortunately, the reasons and purposes are often of the darkest nature.
ISE GmbH and the private vocational school of ISE GmbH promote a more critical approach to each individual and would like to continue to justify the trust of their customers and course participants through data protection that continues to be at the expected, above-average level and is also well prepared for the requirements of a rapidly changing future.
by Andreas Baumann
(Data protection officer of ISE Sprach- und Berufsbildungszentrum GmbH)