Safeguarding the fundamental right of privacy

Technological progress and globalisation have profoundly changed the way our data is collected, accessed and used. We are in an era in which a huge rate of information of physical, biological, environmental, social and economic systems is produced. Recording, accessing and disseminating this information affect in a crucial way the progress of knowledge and the productivity of economy. Public opinion has shown a growing awareness of privacy issues over the last few years. High-profile losses of personal information and growing concerns about the nature and extent of personal information collected by organizations has led to a growing debate about the impact of ICT pervasiveness on privacy. The paper provides a brief overview of methods, tools and technologies for protecting the privacy, it encompasses disclosure control tools in statistical databases and privacy requirements prioritization, and encourages further research in this research field.