Everything you need to know about privacy.

• Position: In Focus: a message from the editors - Brief Article - Editorial

Organizations amass a tremendous amount of information about their customers these days. They know their customers' likes and dislikes, buying habits, and any number of other facts. How that information is stored, handled, and used has become a critical business concern for organizations of all types and sizes.

Protecting their customers' privacy--as well as that of their employees--is posing serious challenges to organizations. Indeed, the increasing importance of privacy in the business environment is changing how information is managed. Thus, it is critical that records and information management professionals understand the issues around privacy.

Therefore, it seems only appropriate that we should focus this special issue of The Information Management Journal on the various aspects that have made privacy a leading business concern today. The Privacy Council's Gary Clayton sets the stage with an overview of this critical issue from a global business perspective. In his article, "Safeguarding the World's New Currency," he also offers steps for responding to privacy issues, as well as a summary of privacy-related laws and regulations in countries around the world.

Susan Haller's article, "Privacy: What Every Manager Should Know," provides a slightly different perspective on the topic. She examines the role of the media in bringing privacy to the forefront, as well as the emerging role of chief privacy officers. (J. Michael Pemberton elaborates on this latter issue in his article, "Chief Privacy Officer: Your Next Career?) Haller also briefly summarizes the major U.S. privacy protections currently in place.

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