Category: Digital Security

Women’s Digital Privacy in Healthcare: A Critical Concern

Women have unique privacy considerations when it comes to healthcare, particularly in non-governmental private clinics. Many of these clinics still rely on traditional paper-based systems. In such settings, a female patient is typically required to register using her national ID card, a copy of which is often kept on file. She is also asked to provide personal and medical information during every visit—placing her data at risk of unauthorized use, whether for marketing purposes or even future fraudulent activities.

With the increasing prevalence of cyberattacks, concerns are growing regarding the misuse of ID cards and the rise of identity theft. It is likely that we will see a surge in such violations as digital systems continue to evolve.

What’s the solution?

A proposed solution is to develop a unified national digital health system for all clinics, under direct government oversight. This system would maintain a centralized electronic health record (EHR) for every individual. Clinics could access this record without requiring patients to re-register or repeatedly provide personal data. More importantly, women would have the authority to control who accesses their information and would have the option to delete their health record instantly through the designated authority—without human intervention from clinic staff, and without lengthy procedures or correspondence that often fail to protect privacy.

Such a system would provide a higher level of professionalism and precision in safeguarding women’s privacy, and in fact, the privacy of all individuals within the healthcare sector.

There is no doubt that many people today suffer from unsolicited marketing calls, often received at inconvenient times, typically from banks or their representatives. These calls promote various offers such as loans, credit cards, and different types of insurance. Despite intensive awareness campaigns by relevant authorities, this phenomenon remains widespread. A single banking inquiry can lead to dozens of calls from various banks and companies—indicating that phone numbers are being shared among individuals in the sector, with no effective mechanism to stop these calls.

What’s the solution?

Several strict regulations and measures have already been implemented, yet they have not yielded the desired effectiveness—as evidenced by the ongoing calls to this day. After reviewing global best practices, I believe the solution lies in one or both of the following approaches:

1. Mandating In-House Marketing Teams Only

Banks should be required to conduct all marketing through internal teams. External marketing agencies are not subject to the same level of oversight and accountability as in-house teams, and they often work with multiple banks simultaneously. This increases the risk of data breaches and lowers the overall security of customer information.

2. Hiding Customer Numbers from Marketers

Marketers should be able to contact customers only through the bank’s internal system, without ever seeing their actual phone numbers. This would eliminate the risk of number leakage entirely. Additionally, the system could include settings to control contact preferences—such as specifying permitted call times or even opting out of calls completely. This solution could be further reinforced through the creation of a unified national marketing platform, connected with telecom providers, giving users greater control over their privacy and enhancing the effectiveness of the Do Not Call Registry (DNCR).

As part of the intensive efforts undertaken in the digital transformation we are witnessing in the country—aimed at empowering the economy and advancing sustainable development—our digital lives have become an indispensable reality. Our daily lives now rely heavily on digital systems, whether in professional tasks, operational procedures, or even in the details of our personal routines such as shopping, transportation, and everyday transactions.

Coinciding with humanity’s arrival at the peak of technological advancement, digital transformation, and scientific progress—at unprecedented, historic levels—there has also emerged a set of challenges, risks, and harms related to digital security. These risks affect the family in particular and society at large.

In this series, I will shed light on the impact of these challenges on women in general, as their privacy is a fundamental pillar of the family’s digital security structure. This is especially significant in the context of Emirati women, due to our cultural norms, traditions, societal values, and unique national identity. Unlike fathers—who are often more vigilant, cautious, and less engaged with modern technologies on a daily basis—mothers tend to handle the majority of digital transactions and bear most of the responsibilities, both personal and familial. As a result, the flow of their personal data and information is higher, which increases the risk of privacy breaches.

This series will mark the beginning of my contributions to this column. In each edition, I will address a specific category of topics and phenomena, drawing insights from both global and local best practices, as well as from messages I receive from brothers and sisters through various communication platforms.
Stay tuned for next week’s article, in which I will discuss bank data breaches.