The world is facing, with COVID-19, a unique and unprecedented health crisis in terms of its magnitude, gravity and speed of propagation, creating a huge disruption in the global economy, impacting the operation of millions of businesses and the life of billions of citizens. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, health organisations across the world, under the initiative of the World Health Organisation, have started to investigate the cases behind the development of the virus in order to curb its spread.

Facilitated access to data, as well as the coordinated effort of all economic stakeholders at a public and private level worldwide, is key to winning this war against the virus. To hasten the resolution of this unprecedented global health crisis and mitigate the economic fallout and the repercussions on all businesses, data must circulate between organisations easily, securely, and extremely fast.

At this time of crisis, it is important to remember that we may all have some means of helping in a positive way. CyberSec4Europe partner DAWEX has launched the COVID-19 Data Exchange initiative, a privacy-respecting exchange platform of non-personal data essential for healthcare professionals and organisations who are at the front line in providing care, conducting research, ensuring transports and logistics of critical equipment, and saving lives. A whole ecosystem participating in the exchange of data, and testing data anonymisation, encryption and other services being carried out in the pilot in the resolution of this crisis could contribute to the global effort to beat the virus and restrain its economic impact.

The COVID-19 Data Exchange review

The COVID-19 Data Exchange is an easy-to-use platform, allowing its participants to securely source, publish and exchange non-personal data with public and private organisations from multiple sectors aiming at stopping the virus’s progression and its economic impact. The Data Exchange technology enables users to remain in full control of the data they share, with whom they share it, and to keep track of all data flows.

The platform acts as a trusted third-party where users benefit from multiple governance features providing maximum security, traceability and confidentiality. Data is exchanged in full compliance with regulations, leveraging blockchain technology to ensure the integrity of licensing contract in private or open data mode. Only strictly vetted participants are granted access to the platform to ensure strict confidentiality and relevance of the data exchanges.

To broadly open-up the platform access to the maximum of countries and avoid any infringement of respective privacy regulations, participants are not authorised to create data offerings containing personal data on the COVID-19 Data Exchange.

On the COVID-19 Data Exchange,

• Scientific communities can access vast amounts of data from all around the world, including data sources that are not easily available.
• Hospitals and other healthcare operations can have access to cutting-edge yet easy-to-use tools to publish and share field non-personal data with a large global community.
• Many other stakeholders having a direct impact on the resolution of this crisis can find and exchange valuable data. Amongst them are specialised equipment manufacturers and distributors, governmental agencies or public services, banks, insurance, retailers, transport and logistics organisations.
• Various types of non-personal data can be exchanged including, but not limited to, statistical data, research data, anonymised raw data, tests results, equipments sourcing and inventory data, social and sentiment data, and many other types of data (open data or private data).

With everyone working together, we will prevail against the virus, its economic impact and come through this stronger than ever.

Join the initiative now ! https://platform.covid19-dataexchange.org/members/signin

(Visit the Resources page for more materials about the way data sharing and data exchange can help fight the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.)

Jérémy Decis

DAWEX Program Manager