National Identity by AusTTA Government Transformation Podcasts

In this podcast with Anna Johnston (Director, Salinger Privacy), Anne Lyons (Visiting Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute) and John Lawrance we explore National Identity. If "Digital Identity is the next cyber frontier", then how do we define privacy in the 21st century and who is responsible for protecting both our individual and national privacy? Is the federal Government responsible for protecting our national identity? What are the implications of new technologies, such as blockchain and quantum computing, for defining and protecting national identity?

Even the definition of data privacy varies has implications for what needs to be protected, with countries in Europe using the term data protection instead of privacy. This broadens the definition away from “perimeter security” to a more holistic view of data and information privacy that goes beyond confidentiality. For example, the focus tends to be on confidentiality whereas data integrity and availability are equally important (CIA).

The perception of a lack of integrity in government and private sector data holdings, such as land titles or banking data, can undermine confidence and have a knock-on effect to economic growth. There are both state and non-state agencies that are actively engaged in cyber warfare that threatens not only physical but virtual security as well. Which then raises questions about who is responsible, and resourced accordingly, to detect, manage and prevent such threats? If the government, then is this the Department of Defence? Is government to be held accountable for setting standards and protecting national data?

With all the associated challenges and opportunities, a national conversation is one way to assess the trade-offs between extracting value from data for the national good versus the risks. For any country or organisation to succeed and prosper in the 21st century requires the ability to capture and extract value from data, which can be either an asset or a liability.