What is more important - Privacy or Security!

Privacy and Security are inter-related topics.

But what is privacy? Or what are the limits of privacy...

When I look at privacy, it means any information that I do not want to be disclosed to a second or third person, something that is personal should be protected at all cost.

But in the age of FaceBook and LinkedIn and online Job Search, I wonder if it is possible for the average online user to hide their personal information.

There is another meaning to privacy and that is no one should be able to see what is in my computer or my online account without my authorizing it first.

Now there is some thought on privacy, let me put a thought on security.

Security is something that should protect and enhance my privacy and not reduce it.

Yet, it is becoming increasingly clear that full proof security is not possible without shedding some of the privacy concerns.

For example, device based authentication is something people would not like to use because once you allow access to one device, all your devices could also be accessible. And then you never know if your computer has become a zombie controlled by some far flung chinese hacker.

But just relying on passwords has not really helped in protecting online users. Instead if the passwords are locked to the devices owned by the user, not only the security of the user is enhanced but also he becomes the sole owner of his private information.

So, the challenge is how to allow access to a user device without infringing on the privacy of the user...

One way is to not to store the information of the device and use real time device authentication.