Can privacy exist alongside security?

Before I start this post, allow me to define both privacy and security:

Privacy: the state of being apart from other people or concealed from their view

Security: freedom from danger or risk, in an element of safety.

From a technological point of view, or in terms of our data, this can mean a slightly different thing. Privacy of our data means the ability an organisation or individual has to determine what data is shared with other parties or people. Security of our data covers the practice of keeping information protected from the corruption and unauthorized access.

Organisations are constantly watching our electronic 'moves', there are many examples of this throughout every aspect of our lives. For example, banks watch and document our spending habits, GPS on our phones know our location almost all the time and social media documents everything that is or has been put on there. In each of these instances our privacy is being invaded by companies. However, without this invasion, we wouldn't be as secure. Banks keep this information about us to monitor our habits and keeps a record to build up a picture of us as customers. This way if any behavior is out of our nature it can be investigated as a possible card theft. GPS is used on our phones to keep our whereabouts know to computer systems, this way the police can use it to find missing persons.

Data collected online is reported back to our governments, which again is a compromise to our privacy. However, this information is used to prevent and give warning to crimes that are being planned, such as terrorist attacks. Cookies use our recently searched data to produce adverts that we are more likely to notice or want to click on.

In all of these instances technology is both keeping us safe and keeping our data safe but in order to do so, our privacy has to be sacrificed. Personally, I don't mind organisations watching my online behavior as I have nothing to hide. I understand that some groups of people will not share the same views as me and don't want their information shared with organisations, but the way technology is moving now, I expect its not going to go other way any time soon.


Like the Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/ticblog/?ref=hl