In the industrial context, which statement best differentiates security from privacy?

• A. Privacy protects systems and data; security protects individuals' personal data.
• B. Security protects systems and data; privacy protects individuals' personal data from unauthorized disclosure and misuse.
• C. Security is about physical locks; privacy about encryption.
• D. Security is only IT; privacy only HR.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is to distinguish what each term aims to protect in an industrial setting. Security focuses on safeguarding assets, facilities, and operations, often through physical controls like locks, access barriers, and guards, as well as cyber safeguards. Privacy deals with protecting individuals’ personal data from unauthorized disclosure or misuse, typically using data-handling practices and measures like encryption to keep information unreadable to unauthorized eyes. The statement that security is about physical locks and privacy about encryption captures this separation: it highlights physical protections for places and equipment versus a cryptographic approach to protecting personal information. Other options either swap these roles, oversimplify, or limit the scope (e.g., privacy only about data, security only IT, or privacy only HR), which don’t fit how these concepts actually operate across an organization.