Hugh.

Munich

Consultant

In the EU there are quite strict rules about what you can do with data. I try to give the minimum possible amount of data to people but you have to accept that it accumulates - one company has your DOB another has your mother's maiden name, which is a frequent password reminder. We have to rely on companies not to allow data to be combined and mined.

I work in banking, and discretion is supposed to be part of the job. On the other hand, with outsourcing and offshoring it becomes much more difficult to keep data under control. Sure the vendor may have signed a confidentiality agreement but does its employees really understand what the data is they are dealing with. Personally, I have had enough problems with local vendors, let alone those based in Asia without data protection laws.