Matheus Puppe comments on TI Inside about data protection risks

News published on TI Inside shows that entities representing employees of the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro) and the Social Security Technology and Information Company (Dataprev) expressed concern about data protection due to the privatization of companies. The text features a comment from Dr. Matheus Puppe, partner in the TMT, Privacy & Data Protection area at Maneira Advogados.

Employees fear risk to data protection with privatization of Serpro and Dataprev

June 28, 2022

Entities representing employees of the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro) and the Social Security Technology and Information Company (Dataprev) launched the “Save Your Data” campaign at the Chamber’s Education Committee, this Monday, 27th. The objective is to contest the privatization of companies. Both were included in the National Privatization Program in 2020.

The president of the National Association of Dataprev Employees, Léo Santuchi, said that the biggest risk of privatization is related to the protection of personal data of Brazilian citizens. According to him, the two companies deal with five thousand systems linked to social security, state and defense, business data, tax data and personal data.

Representative of Serpro employees on the company's Board of Directors, Deivi Kuhn said that people do not have a correct dimension of the risks related to data leaks or their manipulation. And he cited the example of email systems, which are generally shared by the private companies that offer them. According to him, if the State requires that various information be passed on to access services, it must also ensure its security.

“When I report data related to my driver's license, I hope that this data is safe and under the custody of the State because I do not have the option of not providing it. When I report my income to Income Tax, it is not an option not to provide this data. I am obliged to do so,” he said.

Open microphone

Deivi Kuhn cited yet another example of people's little knowledge. "More and more cell phones have their microphones open and we are being recorded. People have started to notice that they are saying something and advertisements are starting to appear. This is absurd, but people still have their microphone enabled. They can go there and disable it, taking away the right to access the microphone", he noted.

The coordinator of the National Front of IT Workers, Vera Guasso, informed that there is a lawsuit in court questioning the studies for the privatization of companies because they would have been carried out without a public tender. She also stated that privatizing digital services could leave the government hostage to the market in an essential sector.

Participants also recalled that the Constitutional Amendment 115 made the protection of personal data a fundamental right.

Public service

The deputy Professor Israel Batista (PSB-DF) explained that citizens need to be aware of issues that can have a direct impact on their lives.

“Often citizens perceive this whole debate as something distant, but in fact it is something that will affect people's real lives. Many of the debates held in the National Congress are not understood by the population. People understand that Congress is far away, that the debates here do not affect their lives. But in fact they do, a lot”, he said.

Professor Israel Batista told Serpro and Dataprev workers that it is necessary for public servants to unite on issues that deal with public service. And he cited the privatization of Correios and the administrative reform (PEC 32/20). The information is from Agência Câmara.

Opinions

“The social function of Dataprev and Serpro guarantees security and quality of life for the population, and, to this end, holds billions of pieces of information that trace a detailed profile throughout the citizen's life. Transferring all this data to private companies creates a huge risk to the privacy of individuals and the State would no longer fulfill its role of guaranteeing and being responsible for the protection of citizen data", says Antonielle Freitas, DPO (Data Protection Officer) of the office Viseu Advogados.

“I understand the campaign, but the risk pointed out by those responsible is unfounded. The State has many obligations, but information security through cutting-edge technologies is not among its competencies. In fact, many of the State's technological solutions today are offered by third parties, large multinational players, be it Microsoft, Google or Amazon (AWS). What is certain is that the LGPD aims to protect data and create rules for compliance with the law, with sanctions being very stricter for private entities than they are for the State (for example, the fines to be applied). If they are privatized, they will certainly have to ensure compliance with the data protection law much more diligently, with extremely rigid information security policies and mechanisms, with exceptions such as, for example, the CNJ's information technology sector, many private companies far surpass the State in these aspects”, said Matheus Puppe, partner in the CNJ area. TMT, Privacy & Data Protection from Maneira Advogados.

“Far from entering into the discussion regarding the privatization of state-owned companies, regarding the protection of data involved in the privatization of Serpro and Dataprev, the concern raised is right. These companies are responsible for more than five thousand government systems on which others are dependent and hold data on millions of Brazilians, many of them sensitive and strategic data, some of which even involve national security. In addition to the protection of personal data, holding this data generates responsibilities very high since its leak can even influence the national market. As well mentioned in the article in question, the importance of the topic is still lacking in most people, so the creation of the “Save your data” campaign is another important step in collective awareness and a necessary discussion in the cultural change in our country in relation to data protection”, explains Nádia Cunha, coordinator of the Contracts and Compliance in Data Protection area, at Jorge Advogados Associados.

https://tiinside.com.br/28/06/2022/employees-temem-risco-a-protecao-de-dados-com-privatizacao-do-serpro-e-dataprev/