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. 2017;7(4):441-451.
doi: 10.1007/s12553-017-0195-1. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Personal control of privacy and data: Estonian experience

Jaan Priisalu  1   2 , Rain Ottis  1   2
Affiliations

Personal control of privacy and data: Estonian experience

Jaan Priisalu et al. Health Technol (Berl). 2017.

Abstract

The Republic of Estonia leads Europe in the provision of public digital services. The national communications and transactions platform allows for twenty-first century governance by allowing for transparency, e-safety (inter alia privacy), e-security, entrepreneurship and, among other things, rising levels of prosperity, and well-being for all its Citizens. However, a series of Information Infrastructure attacks against the Estonian e-society infrastructure in 2007 became one of best known incidents and experiences that fundamentally changed both Estonian and international discussions about Cyber Security and Privacy. Estonian experience shows that an open and transparent attitude provides a good foundation for trust between the Citizen and the State, and gives more control to the real owner of the data - the Citizen. Another important lesson is that the Citizen needs to be confident in the government's ability to keep their data safe -- in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability - establishing a strong link between privacy and information security. This paper discusses certain critical choices, context, and events connected to the birth and growth of the Estonian e-society in terms of Privacy.

Keywords: E-government; Estonia; Information security; Integrity; Privacy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethical standardsThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.There is no funding source.This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.Informed consent does not apply.

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