Cybersecurity in Humanities and Social Sciences

3Cybersecurity and Data Protection – Research Strategies and Limitations in a Legal and Public Policy Perspective

3.1. Introduction

This chapter explores the relationship between cybersecurity on the one hand and data protection and privacy on the other. Cybersecurity and data protection are interconnected in two sometimes contradicting respects. Cybersecurity is essential for data protection. A high standard of cybersecurity is a prerequisite for effective protection of individuals’ data and privacy while using the Internet. However, when police and intelligence agencies collect personal data to prevent and combat cybercrime, they may weaken cybersecurity if they seek access to information stored on the users’ devices by using “backdoors” to infiltrate said devices. This chapter analyzes potential methodological approaches to the study of this complex relationship between data protection and cybersecurity from a transdisciplinary legal and public policy perspective.

If personal data is used for criminal purposes in cyberspace, this is a serious breach of data protection laws as they have been established in Europe and other parts of the world in order to protect individuals’ fundamental rights. Identity theft is even a more serious violation of individual rights for those who find themselves confronted with other people using their identity for criminal purposes. From this perspective, security agencies can help to protect individuals’ rights to data protection by preventing ...