Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

3.9. Data protection
Classical measures of security for work in administrative buildings have become so routine that
staff members might not even notice them any more. Video cameras and porters that control the
access to buildings and archives, ID cards for staff and visitors, the personal signature that secures
authenticity of documents, key words for personal computers. In telework most of these measures
become obsolete.
61
Part Three: Comparisons and Conclusions
71
Comments of the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU), UK, to the DIPLOMAT guidelines for Labour
Relations in telework, see: www.telework-forum.org/diplomat; Internal evaluation at IBM Austria as well as
single interviews with female teleworkers.
72
see Betz, Fritz (1994), p. 38.

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Three critical components of data protection are:
a) a loss of confidentiality as soon as data become potentially accessible for unauthorised
persons. This refers to the organisation's interests as well as access to electronically stored
or transmitted personal data of the teleworker;
b)
a loss of authenticity is given when the identity of the sender of information is unclear or,
when the sender lacks certainty that information is received by the addressee;
c) a loss of integrity when information whilst stored or transmitted can be modified.
Both the technical system and the worker and his environment at remote work places (in particular
the home) are considered for a reduction of risks. Technical problems are identified by one third
of the administrations and indicate problems with authenticity and integrity. Securing
confidentiality for the majority is not a problem, whereas we feel inclined to add: Not any more.
At least internal papers of the technically advanced practitioners show that searches for solutions
have demanded considerable effort. Even in the most elaborated cases like DG7 at the European
Parliament or the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research teleworkers do not have
access to internal computer networks comprising information with top priority.
Solutions can be found on various technical levels: closed ISDN user-groups, firewalls, call-back
checks for access to the network, automatic screen-off and passwords for homebased computers.
Such complex solutions have been established only by four administrations. In other cases
measures for telework do not differ from those at central office. In many cases a simple solution
was found. Information with confidential character is excluded from telework schemes. This,
naturally, restricts the teleworkability of several jobs. Many of our interviewees underlined the
personal responsibility of securing confidentiality.