Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff says personal information collected by government agencies and businesses, often ends up overseas without the individual’s knowledge.
Shroff was commenting on results of a survey conducted by the Commission entitled International Disclosures and Overseas ICT Survey. Fifty government agencies and private companies responded to the survey including Air New Zealand, Fonterra, major banks and the majority of government ministries.
“About 50 percent of survey respondents said they sent personal information offshore for a variety of reasons, many [did so] on a regular basis” says Mrs Shroff.
“But the survey also reveals that almost a third don’t let individuals know they are sending their personal information overseas, with seven respondents stating people were only told if they asked. So people frequently have no idea their information is being stored or processed overseas.”
Read more on Computerworld (NZ)