Network evening: A privacy protective cloud: Geens.com

Yesterday’s event ended the year 2019 in style at the IBM Client Center in Brussels. First, we were given a guided tour of the building, with a presentation on several of the products IBM had been developing in fields such as AI, quantum computing and blockchain.

Second, Ms. Jolien Ghysemans, Data Protection Officer of the Data Protection Authority, provided us with an original introduction into her personal experiences as a Data Protection Officer. On the tunes of Abba, she introduced us to the main issues that a Data Protection Officer faces in his/her line of work, such as “I have a dream” vs. “Money! Money! Money!”. Mamma mia!

Finally, Mr. Jaak Geens presented the privacy-protecting Geens.com cloud platform to us, explaining to us the details of end-to-end encrypted databases, blockchain timestamping, and the user’s ability to fully control what data is shared with whom. Despite the fact that this user control did not extend to IBM’s constantly self-deactivating screens and lights, Mr. Geens’ presentation attracted a lot of viewer attention and interest.

With this event concluding a fruitful 2019, dpo pro wishes you all a merry Christmas and a happy, privacy-by-design, data-secure New Year’s!