Does privacy still exist? The information freely shared on social media networks might be more than enough to make any security professional cringe, and that’s only one of many issues complicating Internet privacy. A recent study shows that 79% of people around the world are concerned about online privacy, but there are a number of challenges to addressing those concerns.

Privacy vs. security

The United States may argue that lack of personal privacy is a matter of national security, but the conversations started when Edward Snowden revealed how much information the government was collecting proves that many feel safer with their privacy intact. And, not surprisingly, the government sure wasn’t crazy about the public knowing their “private” practices either.

The right to privacy

The line between your right to your rights of privacy and the government’s need to know can be a blurry one, a delicate balance that tips back and forth. Complicating this issue is that as citizens of the United States, we technically don’t have a right to privacy. How the general public feels about this lack of privacy tends to shift with how safe or threatened they feel.

The threats to privacy

Regardless of government policy to protect or ignore personal privacy expectations, cyber criminals do not play by the rules. Malware, ransomware, botnets, social engineering, hackers grabbing unencrypted data, the list goes on. As more and more information is stored on the cloud and shared online, data becomes harder to protect. The more ways we have to access that information, the harder data is to protect.

Keeping private information security is everyone’s job, but not everyone is taking it seriously.

What do you think? Should we have a right to privacy, and what’s the best way to protect it?