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Published by Viktoriia Boučková on
In the past, all traffic data was collected and processed manually. Today, much of traffic processes have become digitised, significantly improving the accuracy, quality, and level of insights provided to traffic managers. Needless to say, digitalisation also makes data security a growing concern.
Traffic managers need to ensure that their data remains private and secure. For this reason, it’s essential to choose traffic control software that prioritizes the security and privacy of their data.
Traffic footage is instrumental to traffic control, traffic management data, and significant decisions on infrastructure and movement within an area. As traffic footage is literally that - footage of vehicular and pedestrian traffic within an area - it provides vital information to decision-makers.
With that in mind, keeping this data secure should be a priority. As more and more aspects of traffic management become automated and digitised, it is crucial that you can trust your traffic control software to collect and process data.
Unfortunately, some traffic managers have learned this the hard way. A few years ago a group of Dutch hackers managed to alter traffic lights, creating the potential for delays in up to 10 cities. While such delays may seem minor, they could cause significant impacts on cities.
As such, your traffic control software must be able to effectively facilitate traffic management and control without compromising the security of the data it holds.
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If you’re looking for traffic control software that you can trust, ensure it has these key data security features:
- Data collection anonymity
- Secure data analysis
- Data exclusivity
- Compliance with data security regulations
Now, let’s go into more detail.
Privacy from the Start
It is crucial that the traffic control software you use is designed with privacy in mind. From the moment the software collects and analyzes traffic footage, data should be kept anonymous. Regarding data collection, traffic cameras and sensors should never collect or store personal data.
Instead, all of this data should be collected anonymously. For example, if a traffic camera records cars on a specific highway, it will not store license plate numbers but only the mere data necessary for traffic analysis. Doing so will not impede the insights produced but instead provide you with data without any unnecessary and sensitive personal information.
If you’re providing your own footage for traffic data analysis, make sure that data never travels out of reach or gets into the wrong hands.
Even if traffic managers choose to use real-time traffic data analysis and collection, footage should be analyzed and reviewed without ever being stored, guaranteeing no risk to privacy or personal data.
The right traffic control software will ensure that data is kept private from the start, keeping data anonymous. In doing so, traffic managers can rest assured that no personal information is left vulnerable or exposed.
Secure Analysis
One of the primary benefits of traffic control software is its ability to analyse traffic footage and produce insightful data reports. That being said, it can be difficult to imagine how these insights can be made if data is kept anonymous, particularly concerning vehicle classification and similar reports.
While traffic control software can identify data points such as vehicle classification, traffic speed, and origin-destination matrices, it does not collect any data that is unique or personal to a vehicle. You will only receive the data pertinent to traffic management efforts, instead of data relevant to a driver’s personal information. Traffic control software should ideally not use facial recognition, ensuring that drivers or pedestrians are not identified.
Exclusive Data Ownership
Traffic control software should also ensure exclusive ownership and access of any footage or data to the data’s owner. Third parties can never access a user’s private data - when you upload or obtain traffic data, you exclusively own the data.
Traffic footage can also be immediately deleted following extraction, eliminating the risk of this data being accessed by an unauthorized party. That being said, footage should have the ability to be stored securely for later review or analysis if desired. Similarly, traffic reports and data produced by the footage need to be stored for review by specific users.
Fortunately, this is not an issue when all reports and data are stored exclusively on an individual user’s account within a highly securely cloud-based vault. The reports you receive can only be shared directly from the software when authorized. That being said, should you wish to delete any data, you can do so at any time.
Compliance
Traffic control software also must be fully compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. This ensures that the software and its provider adhere to a standard of data security regulations and clearly define their data privacy policies for users.
Data Privacy with GoodVision
Traffic control software has revolutionised how traffic managers control traffic, optimise movement, and make urban planning decisions. But, as traffic data grows more and more digitised, it is crucial that you, as a traffic manager, ensure the privacy of your data.
For those seeking a solution to their traffic control needs, traffic control software with high data security standards is crucial. Fortunately, there is a solution that carries all of these key data security features: GoodVision. Our solutions were created with privacy by design. Using AWS our software complies with all relevant certifications. For all the traffic footage you provide, all traffic data is kept secure and private, avoiding any data leaking.
Traffic data is securely stored in the GoodVision Vault, a secure video storage platform in the cloud. This platform not only stores traffic video footage but also connects extracted traffic data to your footage. Consequently, you can look up events, verify traffic parameters, and share videos with customers. Only data relevant to you is stored, while unnecessary data is immediately deleted to ensure that it is kept private.
With GoodVision, you can benefit from advanced traffic data to support traffic decisions and obtain invaluable traffic management insights. As a result, you get the information needed for real-time traffic control, optimising traffic flow, and reducing congestion in cities - all of that without compromising the data crucial to operations.
