A framework ensuring privacy in a distributed environment

In the age of Internet and loosely coupled applications, privacy has become a matter of concern. Individuals lose track of their personal data and have no control over databases and information systems containing their personal data. In the field of distributed systems, resarchers focus mainly on how to integrate a variety of systems in a way so that persons benefit from other systems' functionalities and data sources. In general, the integration is done on the business logic layer. As a consequence special properties of data, like privacy properties, are neglected. In fact, it is a big challenge for distributed applications to adapt privacy regulations, to ensure conformity to privacy regulations, and to execute the adaptation process in a transparent and comprehensible form. Unlike most existing work, this paper provides a solution to the problem of adapting privacy regulations in a distributed environment. The framework presented in this study is a novel enterprise architecture that assures privacy according to diverse data privacy regulations and illustrates the adapting process in a transparent and comprehensible form. Moreover, it maintains and enhances additional data privacy properties wherever they apply