Christina Lagerstedt
Doctoral student

Presentation

My research focuses on privacy and personal data in data-driven business development and research. How can data be collected, shared and used in ways that both protect people’s privacy and create value for businesses, research and the public sector?

Data from internet traffic and digital services are valuable for research and innovation in digitalisation and network use. However, collecting and using these data from us as users raises questions about users’ privacy. In addition, regulations and legislation are not always clear about what data may be used for.

In my work, I have examined how data-driven companies and organisations manage privacy across the data lifecycle, from collection to deletion. The results show that organisations use early anonymisation and pseudonymisation to reduce legal risks. Many also see privacy as a long-term investment in trust and competitiveness, not only as a way to reduce the risk of legal violations, fines and reputational damage.

I also study the availability of network traffic data for research. Network traffic data from real-world environments are important for research on network quality, security and user behaviour, but they are rarely available to researchers. Through interviews with researchers, operators and other actors in the ecosystem, I examine what data exist, how they are handled, and under what conditions they could be shared.

I am particularly interested in:

• privacy management in data-driven organisations
• conditions for data sharing between industry and research
• how people perceive and act upon the collection of personal data online