INDUSTRY

ARMONK, NY -- IBM today announced the formation of the IBM Privacy Institute and the Privacy Management Council to focus exclusively on privacy and data protection challenges facing its enterprise customers and the marketplace. The Privacy Institute is the industry's first formal technology research effort focused exclusively on developing privacy-enabling and data protection technologies for businesses. The IBM Privacy Management Council, consisting of participants from select public and private institutions, will leverage the expertise of privacy and security leaders across finance, health care, government, travel and other key industry segments. Members will work hand-in-hand with IBM to address emerging privacy needs and define next-generation Tivoli privacy management software. P. The two initiatives will accelerate new innovations in privacy-enabling technologies through a first-of-a-kind laboratory-to-marketplace effort devoted to mapping out new ways to manage personally identifiable information across an enterprise environment. ``We are clearly in a time where deliberation over maintaining the balance between privacy and security is going to sharply intensify in many aspects of society,'' said Harriet Pearson, IBM's chief privacy officer. ``IBM has been a leader in providing the marketplace with information technologies and services that can help customers manage data securely and privately. Today we bring our commitment to the next level. The collaboration between the Institute and Council can help society address--through innovative technologies and new methods--emerging privacy challenges in a focused and fast-paced way.'' The IBM Privacy Institute, under the direction of Dr. Michael Waidner, institute executive, will conduct research in IBM's eight research laboratories around the world. Like other IBM Research initiatives, the Institute will sponsor a series of workshops and other outreach efforts to the business, academic and research communities. ``The evolution of e-business has made privacy and data protection one of the biggest challenges for enterprises today,'' said Dr. Waidner. ``Companies today are increasingly looking to design and offer personalized services to their customers. We believe that technology will play a critical role in enabling personalized services while protecting individual privacy.'' The Institute will focus on developing technologies that help preserve privacy in the areas of e-commerce, including e-business, pervasive and mobile computing, knowledge management and intrusion detection. Specific areas of research will initially include the development of: -- Software that allows enterprises to manage, use and distribute personal data according to their privacy policies and their customers' preferences; -- Technology that enables organizations to in turn empower consumers to control what they reveal about themselves in e-commerce transactions. Funded by IBM's core business units, the Institute will work closely with IBM solution groups as well as customers from the Privacy Management Council. The Institute will receive input and guidance from an international External Advisory Board of technology, government and policy experts that include Prof. Peter Swire, George Washington University, USA; Dr. Ann Cavoukian, information and privacy commissioner of Ontario; Dr. Tatsuaki Okamoto, NTT, Japan; Malcolm Crompton, Australian privacy commissioner; Marit Kohntopp, Independent Centre for Privacy Protection, Germany; and Lorrie Cranor, AT&T Labs-Research, USA. The IBM Privacy Management Council, comprised of chief privacy officers and security executives from leading private and public institutions, will collaborate with IBM to address crucial privacy issues and industry concerns. IBM will leverage the expertise of the council members to develop next-generation Tivoli software to manage privacy across the extended enterprise. Founding members of the IBM Privacy Council include Deloitte & Touche, Fidelity Investments, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Travelers Insurance, Marriott International, T. Rowe Price, Novant Health, and TELUS. ``In light of the privacy challenges the enterprise marketplace is faced with today, IBM has turned to leading corporations and organizations across the major vertical industry sectors to collaborate on the development of next-generation privacy-enabling software,'' said Robert LeBlanc, general manager, Tivoli Software, IBM Software Group. ``This Council will play a critical role in helping IBM identify the key privacy technology requirements, review technology designs and test resulting privacy technologies.'' As members of the Council, each organization will receive a number of benefits during the life of the Council, including the ability to provide input for the design of new privacy management software. The Privacy Management Council will be chaired by IBM's Chief Privacy Officer Harriet P. Pearson and guided by its representatives of the member companies, including IBM. In no event shall the US Department of Commerce's participation in the IBM Privacy Management Council or its proceedings, evaluation of the evaluation materials or related information, or testing of any products constitute an endorsement of any IBM product. For further information visit www.ibm.com