Safeguards Principle

A fundamental data protection principle requiring organizations to implement security measures protecting personal information against loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. This principle appears across privacy frameworks with varying terminology. Under GDPR Article 32, security must be appropriate to the risk, considering state of the art, implementation costs, and processing risks. Measures should include pseudonymization, encryption, confidentiality, integrity, availability, resilience, and regular testing. Under CCPA, businesses must implement reasonable security procedures and practices. The principle encompasses both technical safeguards (encryption, access controls, firewalls) and organizational measures (policies, training, incident response). Organizations should implement layered security, regularly assess vulnerabilities, update protections as threats evolve, and document security decisions. The safeguards principle recognizes that security isn't absolute—'appropriate' security balances risk against practicality. However, minimum standards exist, and serious breaches can trigger significant penalties even if perfect security is impossible.