Privacy Compliance Requirements in Workflow Environments

Abstract

Workflow management systems are used to run day-to-day applications in numerous domains, often including exchange and processing of sensitive data. Their native “leakage-proneness,” being the consequence of their distributed and collaborative nature, calls for sophisticated mechanisms able to guarantee proper enforcement of the necessary privacy protection measures. Motivated by the principles of Privacy by Design and its potential for workflow environments, this chapter investigates the associated issues, challenges, and requirements. With the legal and regulatory provisions regarding privacy in information systems as a baseline, the chapter elaborates on the challenges and derived requirements in the context of workflow environments, taking into account the particular needs and implications of the latter. Further, it highlights important aspects that need to be considered regarding, on the one hand, the incorporation of privacy-enhancing features in the workflow models themselves and, on the other, the evaluation of the latter against privacy provisions.