CSIRO appoints data safety expert

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 01 February 2006 10:34

Business IT - Security

CSIRO's Preventative Health National Research Flagship has appointed Queensland data safety expert Professor Peter Croll to ensure the security of its innovative technology which allows the linking of diverse health databases. Professor Croll, Director of the Queensland University of Technology's Centre for IT Innovation, is investigating the security and safety aspects relating to the deployment of the CSIRO’s innovative Health Data Integration (HDI) technology.

The web services-based HDI architecture links data from disparate databases under strict privacy and security arrangements to enable enhanced analyses of data to produce new information.

The technology can deliver health outcomes in a wide number of areas, including extracting greater operational value from administrative databases and the mapping of health problems and their impacts over time across wide ranging geographic areas and demographic groups.

Professor Croll's project aims to ensure that the 'systems' in place are appropriate to prevent trust of the data providers and data custodians from being readily or unintentionally eroded.

The systems-wide assessment will include, in addition to technical risks, the administrative, legal and managerial risks. Professor Croll aims to produce a model for ongoing risk assessment procedures that data custodians and other stakeholders can use to ensure all data remains secure.

"Security and privacy are the top e-health issues causing concern to people, due to the sensitive nature of patient information and potential access to it by a wide range of staff," says Professor Croll.

"Technology to ensure security must be coupled with robust security management policies that are enforced."