Differences between Data Security and Data Privacy

Differences between Data Security and Data Privacy

Data should not be taken for granted. Data privacy is of utmost importance for organizations that collect data or manage data. There are major concerns when protecting sensitive data and information like – identities, health records and finances. Most of the times, Data Privacy and Data Security are considered the same – as not everyone recognizes or understands the difference between data privacy and security.

Privacy & Security – Differences

The difference between privacy and security comes down to

  • Which data is being protected

  • How data is being protected

  • From whom is the data being protected

  • And who is responsible for Data protection.

Security is about protecting data from threats, whereas privacy is about using data responsibly.

Data security’s primary objective is to secure sensitive data.

Data security is dedicated to prevent unauthorized data access, breaches or leaks. This is achieved by using tools such as firewalls, user authentication, network limitations, and internal security. This also includes security technologies such as tokenization and encryption to further protect data.

Data Privacy’s major concern is to ensure compliance and data owner’s consent.

This means informing individuals upfront of which types of data will be collected, for what purpose, and with whom it will be shared. Once this transparency is provided, an individual then must agree to the terms of use, allowing the organization ingesting data to use it in line with its stated purposes.

Data Security and Data Privacy – Practices

An example for Data Privacy is – when you download a mobile app, the app developer seeks your permission to access your personal contacts, files, images, etc. And they are responsible to keep your data private.

And Data Security comes into play, when the app developer secures your data from any leaks or data breaches.

Data Security & Data Privacy – Compliances

Some common and most adhered to Data Privacy and Data Security compliances include:

  • PCI DSS: A set of rules for protecting sensitive payment card information and cardholder data.

  • GDPR: An international standard for protecting the privacy of EU citizens.

  • HIPAA: This is concerned with protecting the sensitive health information of patients across the U.S.

In conclusion – privacy limits access, whereas security is the process or application that limits the access. Simply put, Security protects Data, and Privacy protects Identity.