In recent years there has been an explosive growth in location technologies, ranging from GPS-based phones, satellite navigation, telematics, location-based services, RFID applications, spatial mapping and availability of precise geospatial content on the internet. While there are exciting opportunities for organisations involved in these businesses, there are also associated risks in handling of these complex data structures. These risks have not been fully understood or recognised and the pace with which these technologies are growing have outstripped both legal and policy attention.

Surveys conducted by the Office of The Federal Privacy Commissioner, as well as our extensive research (see publications below) indicate that consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive as to how their personal information is collected and managed.

Taking a proactive approach to addressing spatial privacy risks can help organisations build customer trust, protect their brand, avoid costs, and help them better manage financial risks.

OMNILINK’s Spatial Privacy Risk Management approach, which has evolved through extensive research, can refine spatial privacy from an abstract concept into concrete actionable issues.

Our privacy risk management program can help organisations address these issues and ultimately help them create a new covenant of trust with their stakeholders. The key benefits of this proactive approach include:

• Customer satisfaction
• Reduced vulnerability to reputation from litigation
• Differentiator from competitors
• Management of privacy as a business strategy
• Compliance with regulatory regimes as well as being prepared for any future changes.

• Assessing and mitigating potential vulnerabilities associated with spatial data.
• Conducting spatial privacy impact assessments.
• Conducting spatial privacy audits.
• Recommending how to manage spatial privacy responsibly and effectively in the context of ensuring business growth.
• Spatial privacy training and workshops

Seminar(s):

Identifying the necessity to invigorate informed public debate on spatial privacy, OMNILINK sponsored a seminar jointly organised by The School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems, The University of New South Wales (UNSW) & The Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, UNSW.

The seminar speakers included the Victorian Privacy Commissioner, Law and Spatial Technology academics, and representatives from industry. More details about the seminar can be found here

Publications:

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2009. Location privacy in automotive telematics. Handbook of Research on Geoinformatics,, H.A. Karimi (ed.), University of Pittsburgh, USA, (in press).

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2007. Designing privacy-aware mobility pricing systems based on user perspective. Journal of Location Based Services, 1(4), 274-299.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2008. A survey on users willingness-to-pay for privacy in mobility pricing systems. Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 1(3), 306-317.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2008. Legal and ethical implications of GPS vulnerabilities. Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology, 3(3), 178-187.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2006. A privacy preserving GPS-based Pay-as-You-Drive insurance scheme. Symposium on GPS/GNSS (IGNSS2006)}, Surfers Paradise, Australia, 17-21 July, CD-ROM proceedings.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2007. Privacy implications of automated GPS tracking and profiling. Second Workshop on Social Implications of National Security: From Dataveillance to Uberveillance, Wollongong, Australia, 29 October, 225-240.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2007. Anonymous Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). Symposium on GPS/GNSS (IGNSS2007), Sydney, Australia, 4-6 December, paper 112, CD-ROM proceedings.

Iqbal, M.U., Lim, S., 2007. Legal and ethical implications of GPS vulnerabilities. 2nd International Conference on Legal, Security and Privacy Issues in IT (LSPI), 5-7 December, Beijing, P.R. China 351-360.

Further Information: