Balancing Security and Privacy Requirements Across Multiple Regulations

In today’s interconnected world, organisations face a growing array of regulatory requirements that govern both security and privacy. Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NIS2 Directive, and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) impose distinct yet overlapping obligations, often leaving organisations grappling with how to comply without overburdening operations. Successfully navigating this complex landscape requires a balanced approach that integrates security and privacy principles while ensuring compliance with multiple regulations.

This article provides an in-depth exploration of how organisations can balance security and privacy requirements across multiple regulatory frameworks, identifying areas of overlap, potential conflicts, and best practices for harmonising compliance.

1. Understanding Security vs. Privacy Requirements

While security and privacy are closely related, they have distinct focuses and objectives:

• Security aims to protect data, systems, and infrastructure from unauthorised access, breaches, and other threats.

• Privacy focuses on protecting individuals' personal data, ensuring that it is collected, processed, and shared in a lawful and transparent manner.

In many cases, security controls support privacy compliance by safeguarding personal data, but some privacy regulations introduce additional requirements that extend beyond security measures.

1.1. Common Security Requirements Across Regulations

Many regulatory frameworks share common security requirements, including:

• Risk-based security measures: Identify and mitigate risks to data and systems.

• Access controls: Limit access to authorised personnel.

• Incident detection and response: Implement systems to monitor, detect, and respond to security incidents.

• Data protection measures: Encrypt data in transit and at rest, secure endpoints, and implement network protection.

These requirements are core components of regulations like NIS2 and DORA.

1.2. Common Privacy Requirements Across Regulations

Privacy regulations, such as GDPR, introduce additional requirements focused on the rights of data subjects, including:

• Lawful basis for processing: Organisations must have a legitimate reason to collect and process personal data.

• Data minimisation: Only collect and retain the data necessary for specific purposes.

• Transparency: Inform individuals about how their data is used.

• Data subject rights: Allow individuals to access, rectify, or erase their personal data.

These requirements emphasise accountability and individual rights, which may not always align perfectly with purely security-driven approaches.

2. Key Regulatory Frameworks and Their Requirements

Organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions often need to comply with several regulations simultaneously. Below are three major frameworks and their relevant requirements:

2.1. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

GDPR focuses on protecting the personal data of individuals within the EU. It applies to any organisation that processes personal data, regardless of location. Key GDPR requirements include:

• Privacy by design and by default: Embed privacy measures into the development of systems and services.

• Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs): Assess risks to personal data for high-risk processing activities.

• Breach notification: Report data breaches to supervisory authorities within 72 hours.

• Data subject rights: Ensure individuals can access, correct, and delete their data.

GDPR imposes significant fines for non-compliance, up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover.

2.2. NIS2 Directive

NIS2 applies to essential and important service providers in sectors such as energy, healthcare, finance, and transportation. Its primary focus is on cybersecurity and operational resilience. Key requirements include:

• Risk-based security measures: Protect networks and information systems from cyber threats.

• Incident reporting: Notify national authorities of significant incidents within 24 hours.

• Third-party risk management: Ensure that supply chain risks are assessed and managed.

• Security audits: Demonstrate compliance through regular audits and assessments.

While NIS2 focuses on infrastructure security, it also requires organisations to protect personal data as part of their overall cybersecurity posture.

2.3. Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)

DORA targets financial institutions and ICT service providers, aiming to strengthen their ability to withstand and recover from cyber incidents. Key requirements include:

• ICT risk management: Implement comprehensive frameworks to manage technology risks.

• Resilience testing: Conduct scenario-based tests to evaluate operational continuity and incident response.

• Third-party oversight: Ensure that critical ICT service providers meet regulatory standards.

• Incident reporting: Notify authorities of major ICT incidents within 24 hours.

DORA emphasises operational continuity, integrating security and resilience into the financial sector’s regulatory framework.

3. Areas of Overlap and Potential Conflict

Regulations like GDPR, NIS2, and DORA often have overlapping but sometimes conflicting requirements, particularly in areas such as data protection, incident reporting, and risk management.

3.1. Overlapping Requirements

Many regulatory frameworks share core principles, allowing organisations to adopt common controls to meet multiple requirements. Key areas of overlap include:

• Security Measures: Encryption, access control, and network protection are required under GDPR, NIS2, and DORA.

• Risk Assessments: All frameworks emphasise the need for regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate threats.

• Incident Response: Timely detection, containment, and reporting of incidents are critical to compliance with all three regulations.

Implementing a unified security framework can reduce duplication of effort and streamline compliance across multiple regulations.

3.2. Potential Conflicts

Despite similarities, certain requirements may create conflicts or require trade-offs:

• Data Minimisation vs. Monitoring:
  Privacy regulations like GDPR require organisations to minimise data collection, while security frameworks may encourage extensive logging and monitoring for threat detection. Organisations must balance these needs by anonymising or pseudonymising monitoring data where possible.

• Transparency vs. Security:
  GDPR requires organisations to inform data subjects about how their data is processed, but security best practices may limit the disclosure of certain information (e.g., system configurations or threat intelligence) to prevent attacks.

• Incident Reporting Timelines:
  Different regulations have varying incident reporting deadlines (e.g., 24 hours under NIS2 and DORA, 72 hours under GDPR), requiring organisations to establish harmonised reporting processes.

4. Strategies for Balancing Security and Privacy

Organisations can adopt several strategies to balance security and privacy requirements while maintaining regulatory compliance:

4.1. Implement a Unified Risk Management Framework

Develop a centralised risk management framework that incorporates both security and privacy risks. This approach allows organisations to:

• Identify risks to both personal data and critical infrastructure.

• Apply a consistent risk assessment methodology across multiple regulations.

• Prioritise controls based on the combined impact of security and privacy risks.

Frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST Cybersecurity Framework can provide a solid foundation for integrated risk management.

4.2. Align Security Controls with Privacy Principles

Ensure that security controls support privacy compliance by embedding privacy principles into security measures. Examples include:

• Data Encryption: Protects both the confidentiality and privacy of data.

• Access Control: Limits data access to authorised users, reducing the risk of unauthorised disclosures.

• Anonymisation and Pseudonymisation: Protects personal data while enabling security monitoring and analytics.

Security teams should collaborate with privacy officers to ensure that controls address both security and privacy risks.

4.3. Establish Harmonised Reporting Procedures

Develop a harmonised incident response and reporting process that meets the requirements of multiple regulations. Key steps include:

• Defining a single escalation process for all incidents.

• Preparing templates that include reporting criteria and timelines for each regulation.

• Automating the collection of incident data to streamline reporting.

By centralising reporting, organisations can reduce administrative overhead and ensure timely compliance with different regulations.

4.4. Regularly Audit and Update Compliance Measures

Regulatory requirements and threats evolve over time. Organisations should conduct regular audits to:

• Assess the effectiveness of security and privacy controls.

• Identify areas of non-compliance or misalignment between regulations.

• Update policies, procedures, and technologies to address emerging risks and regulatory changes.

Internal and external audits provide valuable insights into the organisation’s compliance posture and continuous improvement opportunities.

5. The Role of Governance and Leadership

Strong governance is critical to balancing security and privacy requirements. Organisations should:

• Appoint a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to oversee security initiatives.

• Designate a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

• Establish a governance committee that includes representatives from legal, compliance, IT, and risk management functions.

This collaborative approach ensures that security and privacy priorities are aligned with the organisation’s overall risk management strategy.

6. Conclusion

Balancing security and privacy requirements across multiple regulations is a complex but achievable goal. By adopting a risk-based approach, harmonising controls, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, organisations can meet their regulatory obligations while protecting both critical infrastructure and personal data. Integrating security and privacy measures into business processes not only reduces compliance risks but also enhances organisational resilience and trust.

For expert guidance on balancing regulatory compliance, implementing integrated risk frameworks, or conducting compliance audits, contact our cybersecurity specialists today.