Is data security the same as data privacy? What is the relationship?

By: Bart Baesens, Seppe vanden Broucke

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You asked:  Is data security the same as data privacy? What is the relationship?

Our answer:

Although security is often related to privacy, they are not synonyms. Data security can be defined as the set of policies and techniques to ensure the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data at all times. On the other hand, data privacy refers to the fact that the parties accessing and using the data do so only in ways that comply with the agreed upon purposes of data use in their role. These purposes can be expressed as part of a company’s policy, but are also subject to legislation. In this way, several aspects of security can be considered as necessary instruments to guarantee data privacy.