PRISE - privacy & security
Objectives

PRISE will promote a secure future for European citizens based on innovative security technologies and policies in line with privacy protection and human rights in general by:

  1. developing and testing a set of criteria and guidelines for privacy enhancing security research and technology development
  2. elaborating these criteria and guidelines with direct involvement of providers of security technologies, private and public users and implementers, institutions and bodies shaping policies and regulation as well as organisations representing potentially and actually conflicting interests
  3. transforming the results into privacy enhancing development and implementation scenarios of security technologies and measures
  4. testing these scenarios in a set of participatory technology assessment procedures in different European states allowing for a substantiated indication of public perception and citizens' preferences
  5. disseminating the results to actors relevant for the shaping of technologies and policies
  6. increasing competitiveness of European security industries by providing guidance for the provision of widely acceptable security technologies

PRISE will perform a study in support of security solutions with a particular emphasis on human behaviour and the perception of security and privacy. It will assist the European Union in shaping their forthcoming security programme in order to achieve active contributions for maintaining security of its citizens with due regard for fundamental rights and democratic accountability at EU and national level by developing sets of criteria for privacy enhancing security technologies. These sets of criteria will be applicable on different levels (research, development, implementation) and by different actors (research coordinators, industry, policy makers, public and private users).
The criteria will contribute directly to a tangible and demonstrable improvement in security as accepted and acceptable security technologies will be easier implemented, more widely used and confronted with less disaffirmation from the general public and from users of these technologies. Privacy enhancing or at least compliant security technologies will also increase competitiveness of European industries and can therefore contribute to security on a global level.

PRISE will tangibly contribute to improved security by overcoming problems of acceptance of new technologies when there is no sufficient level of security and privacy taken into consideration. An important example where these problems cause a lack of acceptance are e-commerce services; acceptance problems can be also be observed in the field of RFID because of shortcomings in the field of privacy.

PRISE will also be important for security research programme design by testing of the use of well established methods of participatory Technology Assessment for security technologies and services. The experiences made and knowledge gained in this process could be of high relevance and importance for research policy and the development of future Framework Programmes in general.

PRISE will generate important inputs and guidelines for distinguished security culture in Europe. In addition PRISE will increase competitiveness of European industry as supplier of acceptable and hence widely accepted security technologies.

PRISE also offers a unique approach in two respects: the combination of user and stakeholder involvement with participatory Technology Assessment methods and the implementation of elements of constructive Technology Assessment in the preparation of a research programme on security.