Data privacy and data security are related but distinct concepts that are both essential for protecting personal data. Data privacy is about ensuring that personal data are collected, used, shared and disposed of in a lawful, fair and transparent manner, respecting the rights and preferences of the data subjects. Data privacy also involves implementing policies, procedures and controls to comply with data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Data privacy protects users from unauthorized disclosure of their personal data, which may result in harm, such as identity theft, fraud, discrimination or reputational damage.
Data security is about safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data from unauthorized or malicious access, use, modification or destruction. Data security also involves implementing technical and organizational measures to prevent or mitigate data breaches or incidents, such as encryption, authentication, backup or incident response. Data security prevents compromise of data, which may result in loss, corruption or disruption of data.
References:
The Difference Between Data Privacy and Data Security - ISACA, section 1: “Data privacy is focused on the use and governance of personal data—things like putting policies in place to ensure that consumers’ personal information is being collected, shared and used in appropriate ways.”
Practical Data Security and Privacy for GDPR and CCPA - ISACA, section 1: “Data security is the practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption or theft throughout its life cycle.”
