+1-647-800-2590
In this rapidly expanding cyber world, data is the most important currency. Whether it be some malicious hacker who is always looking for ways to steal user data or a group of multinational corporations collecting user data without acknowledging him, both are guilty of stealing user data.
In recent years not only cybercrimes have taken a hike, but we also see big data companies like Facebook and Google being called in court for hearing over user privacy concerns. From the start, data security was the primary concern of the user, while data privacy has become a topic of debate as more and more companies are accused of abusing the privacy of digital users.
Data security and data privacy are two different terms that can get confusing sometimes so let’s clear them out. To put it in simple terms, data security is about safeguarding user data while data privacy is about safeguarding user identity. The differences, however, go further deep.
The purpose of data security is to prevent unauthorized access from hackers to user data. Data security usually involves authentication and authorization, blocking malicious users, and maintaining the integrity of the data. To secure user data, different practices are employed like using antiviruses, blocking access to networks through firewalls, encrypting data, to name a few.
On the other hand, data privacy is the measure of how much user data is private. If an individual’s date of birth, for instance, is made publicly available, this is bad data privacy practice. Malicious users can use this data for social engineering attacks. Similarly, when you blindly agree to terms and conditions while signing up for an online service, you are agreeing to give up your data to that service provider. That particular service provider then holds the rights to sell this data to advertisers, use it for data mining, or for any experimental purposes, it all depends on privacy policy.
It is quite possible that you can have good data security without data privacy but it’s very difficult to imagine data privacy without data security. Why, because you can achieve pretty neat data security through steps like authentication and authorization but if some third party is managing this data, then there is a possibility that it might not be private. In contrast, if your data is private, yet you do not follow security protocols and an unauthorized user can access it, that obviously defeats the purpose of having private data. That is why users should follow both good privacy and security practices to protect their data and their identity.
Here are some good data security practices that you can follow to secure your data:
You can follow these privacy practices to protect and secure your digital privacy:
Recent years have seen not only a rise in cyberattacks but also an increase in concern about the way big data companies handle individual user data. Just like security, privacy is also the fundamental right of the digital user. Users should practice this right and protect their data from both malicious attackers and companies which offer free services but collect user data in return.
By following a few simple guidelines and switching to more free and open-source software solutions, users can save both security and privacy.