Cautious approval for ENUM privacy

Chris Jenkins and Angus Kidman

MAY 05, 2005

PRIVACY groups have given the Australian trial of 'one stop' ENUM
phone numbers cautious approval, saying regulators have shown concern
for the numerous privacy and security issues involved in the
technology.

The ENUM trial - which will allow individuals to map a single number
to their existing landline and mobile phone numbers, as well as email
addresses and web sites - is set to begin on June 6, and was
officially launched in Melbourne today.

While officials from the Australian Communications Authority (ACA),
which inaugurated the trial, and AusRegistry, which is running it,
were quick to talk up the potential of the system, many key details
are still to be finalised

Questioned about privacy policies in place to protect consumer data,
officials admitted that early participants in the trial would have no
guarantee that any data that submitted wouldn't be harvested by
spammers.

Nevertheless, privacy groups have welcomed steps taken by the ACA to
safeguard personal information for the trial. 

While there were still issues to be resolved before ENUM would be
suitable for general public use, the ACA had taken adequate steps for
the trial, executive director for privacy group Electronic Frontiers
Australia Irene Graham said.

"Definitely there are a lot of privacy issues and security issues to
do with it (ENUM), but at the moment we are of the view that the ACA
and the working group have been very good in seriously considering
those issues and trying to address them," said Ms Graham, who sits on
the privacy and security committee working under the ACA's ENUM
working group.

Australian Privacy Foundation board member Jan Whitaker said the ACA
had handled ENUM security and privacy questions "reasonably well".

Nevertheless, overall privacy issues remain. "Like any centralised
database, once you get in you have everything, so you have the problem
of a concentrated amount of data," Ms Whitaker said. 

(snip)

Full article at Australian IT ...
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,15188703%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html


Cheers, Steve...

---