Enhancing data privacy with security principles

Imagine you’re in Lagos, Nigeria, and you’ve just transferred money to a friend using a mobile payment service like Paga. The next day, your friend claims they didn’t receive the money, even though you’re sure you sent it. Luckily, the payment service keeps a record of the transaction, including when and how much money was sent. This is where non-repudiation comes into play. Non-repudiation ensures that neither you nor your friend can deny the transaction took place because the system has proof that it happened. This concept is essential not just for financial transactions but also for protecting our personal data in the digital world.

Now, let’s think about how we communicate online. Whether it’s sending an email or logging into your social media account, authenticity is another critical factor. Imagine you’re in Accra, Ghana, and you receive an email from a colleague asking for sensitive business information. Before responding, you need to be sure that the email actually came from your colleague and not someone pretending to be them. Authenticity ensures that the person you’re communicating with is who they claim to be. This is especially important in today’s world, where phishing attacks and fraud are becoming more common.

Both non-repudiation and authenticity are essential in helping individuals, businesses, and governments ensure data privacy. In countries like Nigeria and Ghana, where digital adoption is growing rapidly, ensuring that these principles are in place can significantly improve data security.

Let’s consider how these two concepts work together to improve data privacy. Imagine a hospital in Abuja, Nigeria, where doctors and nurses are handling sensitive patient information. If someone accesses a patient’s medical records, non-repudiation ensures that there is a clear trail showing who accessed the data and when. This prevents any healthcare worker from denying they viewed or modified the records. On the other hand, authenticity makes sure that only authorised personnel — those who have the right credentials — can access these sensitive records. Together, these tools help the hospital maintain a high level of data privacy and security, protecting patients from potential breaches or misuse of their personal information.

In Ghana, consider a similar situation at a university, where student data is stored electronically. If a student applies for a scholarship, they trust that their personal details — such as their grades and financial information — will be kept private. Non-repudiation can help the university prove that only authorised staff have handled the data, while authenticity ensures that no unauthorised person can pretend to be a staff member and gain access to this sensitive information. This provides students with confidence that their data is safe and won’t be misused.

In everyday life, we encounter non-repudiation and authenticity more often than we realise. Think about using a popular messaging app like WhatsApp in Lagos. When you send a message, the app provides confirmation that the message has been delivered and read. This confirmation acts as a form of non-repudiation, ensuring you can’t deny sending the message and the recipient can’t deny receiving it. Similarly, logging into the app requires you to prove your identity — whether through a password, a fingerprint, or face recognition. This is an example of authenticity, ensuring that only you can access your account.

When businesses, governments, and individuals embrace these concepts, they help build a stronger culture of data privacy. In an era where personal information is increasingly shared online, the risks of data breaches and fraud are also rising. By ensuring that non-repudiation and authenticity are part of our digital interactions, we can protect ourselves from these risks and build trust in the systems we use every day.

In conclusion, non-repudiation and authenticity are essential tools for ensuring a better data privacy posture in our digital world. From mobile money transfers in Nigeria to university applications in Ghana, these concepts help secure our personal information, protect against fraud, and provide accountability in the systems we use. As more people across Africa continue to adopt digital services, understanding and implementing these principles will be key to safeguarding our privacy and building a more secure digital future.

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