We often use the terms “Security” and “Privacy” interchangeably, but they are two very different disciplines. In February, as we reflect on Data Privacy Day, it is critical to understand the distinction—because getting it wrong can lead to massive fines.
Here is the simplest way to visualize the difference:
- Security is about protecting your data from unauthorized access (hackers, thieves).
- Privacy is about governing authorized access (how your company uses, shares, and sells that data).
You can have perfect security (a locked vault) but terrible privacy (you sell the contents of that vault to advertisers without consent).
For the Business: 3 Steps to “Privacy by Design”
If you manage data, you have a responsibility to limit its exposure.
- Data Minimization: The best way to protect data is to not collect it. If you don’t need a user’s birthdate for your app to function, delete the field. You can’t leak what you don’t have.
- Purpose Limitation: If a customer gave you their email for “Shipping Updates,” you cannot use it for “Marketing Blasts” without asking again.
- The “Right to be Forgotten”: Test your deletion process. If a user asks to be deleted, do you actually wipe their data from your backups and third-party tools, or do you just hide their profile in the UI?
For You (The Individual): Fighting the Data Brokers
On a personal level, your privacy is constantly eroded by “Data Brokers”—companies that scrape public records and sell your home address, phone number, and family details to anyone with a credit card.
You have two options to fix this:
- The Manual Way: You can visit the opt-out pages of 100+ data brokers (like Whitepages, Spokeo, and ZoomInfo) and request removal one by one. This is free but takes dozens of hours.
- The Automated Way: Use a Data Removal Service. Tools like Optery, DeleteMe, or Incogni will automatically scan these databases for your profile and send legal removal requests on your behalf. They run continuously, ensuring your data stays off these sites even if it repopulates later.
Discussion
- Does your organization have a dedicated Privacy Officer, or does it fall under Security?
- Have you ever Googled yourself to see how much of your home address history is public?