Protect your 'digital shadow'

The privacy commissioner is warning people to protect their "digital shadow" as Big Brother-like surveillance and the secret collection of personal data pervade society.

Marie Shroff said more than 100 closed circuit TV cameras now recorded people in Auckland's Queen St alone. Cameras operating in Lower Hutt fed directly to police.

A missed bill payment would leave a black mark on a person's credit rating and a risque photo uploaded on a social networking site "after a night out" might be used by future employers to deny a job, she said.

But despite the growing intrusion of surveillance and the dangers associated with the theft or misuse of personal identity details, many people remained oblivious to potential consequences.

"One day people will wake up to the silent revolution, the hidden networks being created."

Addressing a high-powered international identity conference in Wellington yesterday, Ms Shroff said digitalised personal information remained online or in government department and private sector databases for decades.

There had been "gross breaches" or huge losses of personal identity details overseas. Similar problems could arise in New Zealand.

She warned state sector officials and business leaders to protect the growing body of digital information they held - "the new currency" - or risk undermining public confidence in the collection of personal data, which underpinned e-commerce and e-government systems.

"Now in this digital age, we are generating and giving away intimate information about ourselves from the very day we are born. As we move through life, millions of digital records are created by us or about us - our digital shadow.

"I am all too familiar with the sense of loss, grievance and even despair people feel when their personal information or their identity is lost, stolen or misused. We ignore these feelings at our peril."

Without their knowledge, people were filmed daily by CCTV in supermarkets, petrol stations and banks. The accumulation of personal details on databases could yield huge commercial value.

There were benefits, such as added security and efficiency gains from faster identification processes. But identity theft, fraud and intrusion were real dangers, Ms Shroff said.

Speaking outside the conference, she said a 2006 poll found 90 per cent of respondents were concerned about the way businesses used their personal details. Only 40 per cent worried about being filmed by CCTV.

The Law Commission is undertaking a review of privacy laws, and voluntary guidelines were introduced last year to encourage businesses and state agencies to alert customers if personal details were compromised.

"What seems to be a minor problem is actually a major problem if it results in distress, exposure or harm.

"All the efficiencies in the world won't necessarily help if things are going wrong and mistakes are made."

A spokesman for the State Services Commission said it introduced standards in 2006 for Government agencies to promote identity authentication.