Prof. Giusella Finocchiaro

Bio:
Giusella Finocchiaro is Full Professor of Internet Law and of Private Law at the University of Bologna, and owner of the Finocchiaro legal firm specializing in internet law. She has been appointed as an Italian correspondent for various projects by the EU Commission and private IT Law Firms. She is also consultant for some legal firms in Brussels. She is a past member of the Tacis Project on Electronic Commerce in Russia. Since 2003 she has been the Scientific Director of the Master's programme: "Information Security” at the Alma Graduate School of the University of Bologna. She is a past member of the UNCITRAL Expert Group on Legal Issues of Digital Signatures. She is a Professor of Information Technology Law, Management School, at the “Luigi Bocconi” University in Milan. She is a contributor for "Il Sole -24 Ore". She is the author of several books in the field of internet law including Internet law, Zanichelli, 2001, and Digital signature and electronic signatures - Civil law aspects, Giuffre, 2003 and has been published in many international books, including Concise European IT Law, ed. Alfred Bullesbach, Yves Poullet, Corien Prins, Kluwer Law International, 2006; Personal data protection in the workplace in Reasonable expectations of privacy?, ed. Corien Prins, Berend de Vries, Sjaak Nouwt, T.M.C. Asser Press, 2005. She has been published in many international journals including: European Law and Consumer Protection in the Information Age, in Information & Communication Technology Law, vol. 12, n. 2, 2003; Digital Signature and Electronic Signatures: the Italian Regulatory Framework after the D.Lgs. 10/2002, in Electronic Communication Law Review, 2002, vol.9. She has been a speaker in international conferences among which ILPF Conference 2002, "Security v. Privacy". she is member of (i) the Scientific Committee of many legal reviews, (ii) the Scientific Committee of the Institute of Advanced Studies-University of Bologna, (iii) the Scientific Advisory Committee of the European Privacy Institute, (iv) ENISA Permanent Stakeholders Group, (v) ENISA Working Group on "Privacy e Technology", (vi) the Commission on Technology and Copyright, for the reform of the Copyright Law, by the Italian Minister of Culture.

Webpage: www.studiolegalefinocchiaro.it

Main Legal Issues Concerning Information Security

Abstract:
Information security raises many legal issues: provider’s liability, intellectual property rights, applicable law. Among them, two subjects will be dealt with in this talk: electronic signatures and data protection.
Both the subjects will be analyzed in the framework of the European legislation.
The European regulation on electronic signatures is constituted by Directive 1999/93/EC on electronic signatures. It aims to increase trust on information network and to develop electronic commerce. The European legislator has adopted a technologically neutral approach, articulated on two levels of electronic signature: the electronic signature and the advanced electronic signature.
The European regulation on data protection is constituted by the Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and by the Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications. The European regulation can be regarded as concerning the use of information: not limited to defining rules for confidential data, it deals also with the circulation of data in general. Data protection is granted in a broad sense and with a high level of protection, not limited to sensitive data. Information is an asset to be aware of for companies and public administrations: it is a valuable resource to protect and defend having recourse to the instruments provided by the law.

Legal notice