Security and Privacy: Importance, Differences & more [2023]

Summary of Security and Privacy

Security and privacy are interdependent, Security can achieve without privacy, but privacy cannot be achieved without Security.

Security protects the confidentiality and availability of information, while data protection regulates data protection rights more precisely than personal information.

When processing personal data, data protection has priority, while Security means protecting information resources from unauthorized access.

Personal data can relate to information concerning an individual, such as names, addresses, credentials, financial account information, social security numbers, etc.

Security is about protecting data; data protection is about protecting the identity of the user.

However, the specific differences are more complex, and there may well be areas of overlap between the two.

Security refers to protecting against unauthorized access to data.

We have security controls in place to restrict who can access the information.

Privacy is more challenging to determine, in part because even user-specific details can be protected data.

Example of Security and Privacy

• Hospital and clinic workers use secure systems to communicate with patients about their health instead of sending information through personal email accounts.
• This type of data transfer is an example of Security.
• On the other hand, data protection regulations could limit patient medical records to individual hospital staff such as doctors, nurses, and medical assistants.
• Data protection can also determine when users can access certain information (e.g., only working hours).
• The recent study motivated the security and confidentiality practices of more than 300 HIV clinics in Vietnam.
• The study found that “most staff had adequate measures and practices in place to maintain data security.
• However, protecting patient privacy, mainly access to, sharing and transmission of data, needed improvement.”

Importance of Security and privacy

• Although privacy and security concepts are complex, we know that it can have Security without privacy, but challenging to have privacy without protection.
• As technology advances and the use of technology increases, we become more and more dependent on it.
• However, our addiction makes us more vulnerable to security threats like identity theft and email hacks.
• Info-systems and the data they contain have been compromised due to insufficient Security.
• The resulting loss of data can have severe consequences for the people whose data is stored on these systems.
• Unfortunately, security breaches are so common that, statistically, they are almost inevitable.
• According to a 2017 cyber-crime report, ” stole more than 2 billion personal documents in 2016, and medical records from more than 100 million Americans have stolen in the United States alone.”
• These statistics strongly indicate the need for greater cyber-security.

Privacy

• Privacy is a fundamental right essential for autonomy and the protection of human dignity and serves as the basis for many other human rights.
• Data protection allows us to create barriers and manage borders to protect ourselves from unwarranted interference in our lives.
• In this way, we can negotiate who we are and how we want to interact with the world around us.
• Data protection helps us set limits to restrict access to our bodies, places, things, and communication and information.
• The rules for the protection of privacy allow us to assert our rights in the face of significant power imbalances.
• Consequently, privacy is a meaningful way to protect ourselves and society from the arbitrary and unjustified use of power by reducing and doing while protecting us from others who may wish to exercise control.
• Data protection is essential for us humans, and we make decisions about it every day.
• It gives us the space to be ourselves without judgment. It permits us to think freely without discrimination and is an essential element in controlling who knows what about us.

Difference between Security and Privacy

1. Security and data protection

• Although both are related terms that are regular use combined, they are often abused, although one cannot exist without the other.
• Security is the state of personal liberty or freedom from potential threats, while privacy refers to the state of freedom from unwanted attention.

2. Security and data protection objectives

• The three primary goals of Security are confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
• Security means protecting your information assets and confidential data from unauthorized access. It applies to both information security and cyber-security.
• All security protocols are direct towards at least one of three goals. On the other hand, data protection refers to the rights of individuals and organizations about personal data.

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3. Security and privacy programs

• A security database refers to a set of protocols and regulations that are put in place to protect all the assets and confidential information assets that an organization collects and owns.
• It focuses on data and information rather than people’s personal information.
• On the other hand, the privacy program focuses on protecting only personal information like login information, passwords, etc.

4. Principles of security and data protection

• The three basic security principles include protecting confidentiality, maintaining the integrity of information assets, and promoting data and information availability.
• Data protection defines the rights of individuals and organizations about personal data.
• To some extent, privacy can achieve with security initiatives, and Security depends on the confidentiality of credentials and access to data.

5. Addiction

• Security and data protection drive hand in hand. One can imagine a safe environment but one that does not guarantee privacy.
• Similarly, one can imagine a private house because of the windows, but which does not guarantee safety from outsiders.
• However, one can achieve Security without privacy, but privacy cannot be achieved without protection. If Security is weak or vulnerable, it automatically affects privacy.