Online privacy and security have become a central part of our new digital reality, and the fifth-annual Data Protection Day this Saturday, January 28 is a great opportunity to foster a societal debate around data privacy issues.

Last year we chatted with Leonardo Cervera, the man responsible for the first Data Privacy Day event in the United States. He spoke at length about data privacy and his overall background and interest in keeping people safer online, among other topics.

Cervera noted that, “As a consumer, I am concerned that business considerations might prevail over my dignity as a human being. The increasing difficulty of enforcing data protection over the Internet also worries me.”

This year, people are still worried about those same issues.

That’s part of the reason the National Cyber Security Alliance says it will host and participate in various events around the world designed to raise awareness about privacy issues. The NCSA, a non-profit public-private partnership focused on cybersecurity awareness, includes representatives from Intel, eBay, Microsoft, Intuit, and Comcast.

According to the NCSA, one of this year’s biggest events will be a privacy debate — streaming live on Facebook  — on Thursday, January 26 from 9:00am-11:45am at the George Washington University Law School. Read More