Communications of the ACM
Private Data Gatekeeper Stands Between You and the Nsa
The new openPDS system controls the flow of information by allowing users to see and control third-party requests for their information.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed openPDS, a system that enables users to see and control any third-party requests for their information. Instead of letting the apps have direct access to user data, openPDS sits in between them, controlling the flow of information. The system is hosted either on a smartphone or on an Internet-connected hard drive, redirecting data from the phone or computer as it is generated.
"With openPDS, you control your own data and share it with third parties on an opt-in basis," says MIT professor Sandy Pentland.
The researchers also are developing a cloud version of openPDS.
"OpenPDS is a building block for the emerging personal data ecosystem," says MIT's Thomas Hardjono.
Massachusetts General Hospital wants to use openPDS to protect patient privacy for a program called CATCH, which involves continuously monitoring a range of medical variables. "We want to begin interrogating the medical data of real people in real time in real life, in a way that does not invade privacy," says Massachusetts General Hospital's Dennis Ausiello.
From New Scientist
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