CSA Presents Privacy Level Agreement Initiative at European Parliament

A working group to support EU data protection regulators’ recommendation on cloud computing.

September 5, 2012 – Data privacy and protection remains a major impediment to the broad adoption of Cloud services. In an effort to help Cloud Service Providers and potential Cloud customers objectively evaluate privacy standards, and to support the implementation of Art. 29 WP and EU National Data Protection Regulators recommendations on Cloud Computing, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) launched a new Privacy Level Agreement (PLA) Working Group. The scope and objective of the PLA Initiative was presented today at the European Parliament as part of the General Data Protection Regulation discussion being led by CSA’s Managing Director EMEA, Daniele Catteddu, in collaboration with Paolo Balboni, Scientific Director of the European Privacy Association and co-chair of the PLA Working Group. The PLA Working Group will work to define compliance baselines for data protection legislation and establish best practices for defining a standard for communicating the level of privacy measures (i.e., data protection and data security) that it agrees to maintain while hosting third-party data. The PLA Working Group is comprised of independent privacy and data protection subject matter experts, privacy officers, and representatives from Data Protection Authorities. Organizations interested in PLA sponsorship opportunities can learn more by downloading the PLA Initiative Research Sponsorship Outline. “The goal of this Working Group is to create a structure for privacy disclosures that will provide both Cloud providers and their customers with an objective and comparable way by which to communicate their personal data handling practices,” said Daniele Catteddu, managing director EMEA for CSA. “This is especially problematic in the EU, which maintains the most stringent regulations on privacy as compared to the rest of the world. The PLA Working Group represents an important first step in establishing global standards for communicating the measures taken for protecting personal data in the cloud.” About the Cloud Security Alliance The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all other forms of computing. The Cloud Security Alliance is led by a broad coalition of industry practitioners, corporations, associations, and other key stakeholders. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa. Media Contacts: Robert Nachbar [email protected] 206-427-0389