Security, privacy and integrity

Three words that sound alike

• People mix up security, privacy, and integrity, but they mean different things.
• Knowing the difference is a favourite exam question — and it makes the rest of the course clearer.

What each one means

• Security — keeping data and systems safe from people who should not have access.
• Privacy — your right to control who sees your personal data.
• Integrity — the data is accurate and complete, and has not been changed by accident or attack.

A quick example

• A hospital stores patient records.
• Security: locks and passwords stop outsiders getting in.
• Privacy: only the patient's own doctor may look at their record.
• Integrity: a blood-type value must never be altered or corrupted — a wrong value could be deadly.

Protect the system and the data

• You must protect both the computer system (so it keeps working) and the data (so it stays correct and secret).
• A threat to either is a threat to all three goals of the CIA triad.

Covers: A-Level 6.1 (Data Security), IGCSE 5.3.

Now you try

• Two short tasks below: first label three real events with the right word — security, privacy or integrity.
• Then act as a backup checker: compare a stored record with the original and report whether it changed.

Common mistakes

• Keep the three ideas separate: security (safe), privacy (who may see it), integrity (correct).
• Encryption protects confidentiality, not integrity.