Privacy vs Security is a conundrum. In most cases, to achieve privacy means implementing tools that prevent or preclude security. To achieve security and protection against threats, the trade off for the user is sacrificing privacy. By its very nature, privacy entails eliminating the ability for a user’s web surfing, email, texting, social media and app activity to be monitored. Security requires such activities to be monitored and inspected to provide protection against cyber threats.
A user won’t be able to have both complete privacy and complete security, so when it comes to choosing between privacy vs security, they must decide which compromises they are willing to make. Will they sacrifice some privacy in exchange for security? Or, will they exchange the risk of cyber threats, viruses, and ransomware for better privacy?
People don’t seem to worry much about privacy when “checking in” to a favorite local restaurant or coffee shop, or from other social media posts that reveal one’s location. What if you were approached by a complete stranger who knew your name and other personally indefinable information within minutes after making an upload? A few socialites got quite the shock after a social media experiment revealed how much personal information can be extracted from publicly viewable status updates.
Consumers will soon know exactly how much of their personal information is being collected online, by whom, and may one day be able to correct errors or opt-out entirely from such activity. The name of the game is “privacy” and thanks to a combination of recent investigative reporting and pressure from advocacy groups, regulatory entities and politicians, the urgency to reach this point is now mainstream news.
The past weeks have been rife with accusations of privacy infringement against Apple for covertly collecting geo-location information from iPods, iPhones and iPads. Although the collecting of private information by mobile phone manufacturers and 3rd party apps is nothing new, the manner in which Apple stores its data has resulted in criticism from end-users and security experts alike.
