Sydney Saubestre
Introduction to Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs)
Privacy Matters
Governments should and do rely on data to allocate resources, assess policy impact, and improve public services. From tracking public health trends to optimizing educational attainment, data-driven decision-making enables more efficient and informed governance. However, the growing scale of data collection and sharing also heightens privacy risks—particularly as more personal information is aggregated and stored across public and private systems.1 Consumer data, including financial records, location history, and online activity, is increasingly intertwined with government-held information, creating broader exposure to breaches, misuse, and re-identification.2
Without proper safeguards, sensitive personal data can be exploited, leading to real-world harm. For example, the 2015 U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breach compromised the records of millions of federal employees, exposing Social Security numbers, personnel records, and even extensive information about employees’ friends and relatives provided as part of applications for security clearance.3 Similar risks exist in the private sector, where high-profile breaches have exposed data from credit card details to genetic information.4 Such incidents erode public trust and illustrate the dangers of concentrating vast amounts of sensitive information in centralized, highly accessible systems.5
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