When you hear the phrase “data privacy,” what comes to mind? Locking down your files? Making sure nobody hacks your Wi-Fi? Avoiding that random email link that clearly wasn’t from an actual prince? While those are related concepts, let’s take a moment this week to clear up some common misconceptions about what data privacy really means.
What’s the Difference Between Privacy and Security?
These two concepts get mixed up constantly, but they aren’t interchangeable. Here are breakdowns of each:
Security
- Protects data from unauthorized access, misuse, or harm
- Focuses on systems, defenses, and protections
- Examples: encryption, passwords, multi-factor authentication, firewalls
Privacy
- Controls who should have access and how data is used
- Focuses on people, choices, and expectations
- Examples: determining where data can be stored and who can access it
You can think of it this way: security is the lock on the door, and privacy is deciding who gets a key and what rooms they can enter. Both of these play an integral role in keeping data safe and respected.
Common Misconceptions
- “If I lock it down, privacy is covered.” > Privacy is also about appropriate use, not just protection.
- “Only IT needs to worry about privacy.” > Everyone handles data, so everyone shapes privacy outcomes.
- “If Drive is approved by the university, it must be okay to store my sensitive data there.” > Some services aren’t approved for certain data types and risk levels.
While these ideas are understandable, it is necessary to recognize the importance of data privacy. Data security keeps information safe, and it ensures that information is treated with care and used responsibly. Data privacy keeps information safe, and it ensures the right people have access to the right data, in the right place. When we get both right, we protect not just systems but also ourselves, and our community.