Deconstructing the Relationship Between Privacy and Security [Viewpoint]

From a government or law-enforcement perspective, one common model of privacy and security postulates that security and privacy are opposite ends of a single continuum. While this model has appealing properties, it is overly simplistic. The relationship between privacy and security is not a binary operation in which one can be traded for the other until a balance is found. One fallacy common in privacy and security discourse is that trade-offs are effective or even necessary. Consider the remarks of New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing, “I\u27m a major proponent of cameras. I think the privacy issue has really been taken off the table” [1]. Poorly-designed security measures can consume significant resources without achieving either security or privacy; others can increase security at the expense of privacy. However, with careful consideration, there are solutions that benefit privacy and security