System implications of information privacy

Abstract

Recent advances in computer time-sharing technology promise information systems which will permit simultaneous on-line access to many users at remotely located terminals. In such systems, the question naturally arises of protecting one user's stored programs and data against unauthorized access by others. Considerable work has already been done in providing protection against accidental access due to hardware malfunctions or undebugged programs. Protection against deliberate attempts to gain access to private information, although recently discussed from a philosophical point of view, 1-4 has attracted only fragmentary technical attention. This paper presents a discussion of the threat to information privacy in non-military information systems, applicable counter-measures, and system implications of providing privacy protection.