NAIROBI, Kenya November 27 – Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait, MBS, represented the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner during the Symposium on Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, organized by the Kenya Red Cross in partnership with Luxembourg Aid & Development and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

The conference was opened by Emmanuel Kata Kimeu, the Ministry of Information Communications and Digital Economy Secretary of ICT, Security, and Audit, on behalf of the Principal Secretary (PS) ICT and Digital Economy, John Kipchumba Tanui.

In her remarks, the Data Commissioner acknowledged the fast-growing tech space and its relevance for humanitarian action. She encouraged stakeholders in the sector to leverage new technologies while upholding the rights and dignity of people affected by humanitarian emergencies as they deliver services.

“From a data protection perspective, these innovations raise significant data privacy issues that may result in reputational damage for data subjects, such as limited control over their personal data, unauthorized collection, use, or disclosure, automated decision-making through profiling, and identity fraud through the misuse of digital IDs,” she said.