Data privacy, sometimes also referred to as information privacy, is an area of data protection that concerns the proper handling of sensitive data including, notably, personal data but also other confidential data, such as certain financial data and intellectual property data, to meet regulatory requirements as well as protecting the confidentiality and immutability of the data. It focuses on how to collect, process, share, archive, and delete the data in accordance with the law.
Privacy, in the broadest sense, is the right of individuals, groups, or organizations to control who can access, observe, or use something they own, such as their bodies, property, ideas, data, or information.
Control is established through physical, social, or informational boundaries that help prevent unwanted access, observation, or use.
For example:
A physical boundary, such as a locked front door, helps prevent others from entering a building without explicit permission in the form of a key to unlock the door or a person inside opening the door.
A social boundary, such as a members-only club, only allows members to access and use club resources.
An informational boundary, such as a non-disclosure agreement, restricts what information can be disclosed to others.
Privacy of information is extremely important in this digital age where everything is interconnected and can be accessed and used easily. The possibilities of our private information being extremely vulnerable are very real, which is why we require data privacy.
