Information and privacy in the digital age

Technological evolution is changing the way in which financial services are produced and delivered. The delivery of financial services has changed as the world has become a smaller place thanks to the worldwide networked infrastructure of the Internet. Indeed, the delivery of financial services is moving toward an increasing multitude of alternative channels of delivery and away from the traditional bricks-and-mortar delivery channels (Claessens, Glaessner & Klingebiel 2004). As the methods of delivery have changed, so to, have the risks involved with doing business. Internet users sending personal and proprietary data over the internet are increasingly at risk with respect to the information they send across the interconnected network, that is the Internet (Cranor, 2002). In the context of finance, these concerns hinge squarely upon the privacy of information. This paper will take a critical view of privacy and information security in finance. In doing this, the threats that arise because of the technologies of digital information and the kinds of countermeasures that can be effective will be discussed.