Data Privacy is a Competitive Edge Not an Option

• By Ravi Srivatsav
• May 21, 2025

With the ongoing expansion of digital attack surfaces coupled with cost constraints, outdated infrastructure, and a shortage of cybersecurity talent, many businesses are sorely exposed. For most companies, breaches are a matter of when, not if. AI-driven threats further amplify the risk.

Governments and industries are tightening data privacy rules, making companies, their executives, and boards of directors more accountable. Regulations like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) cybersecurity reporting rules and the European Union’s Digital Operational Resiliency Act (DORA) impose hefty fines on leadership, causing financial and reputational harm when an incident occurs. Meanwhile, class-action lawsuits from customers can drive a company’s losses into the billions.

Taking a proactive approach to data protection means ensuring data is protected in all stages of its lifecycle and when it transitions from one stage to the next. There are many factors putting pressure on business and technology leaders to achieve this.

Sensitive corporate data is often left unprotected, either by fledgling perimeter defenses or encryption gaps caused by traditional methods. Either way, the critical question for companies to ask isn’t whether they will be attacked; it’s whether their data will stay protected when they are. Answering this requires a major shift in how security leaders approach data protection, away from a tactical exercise to a strategic business imperative.

Companies that make a firm commitment to data privacy can also strengthen consumer trust and loyalty and build a competitive edge. Privacy investments also enable faster time-to-market for new products and services while reducing security incidents. Additionally, companies investing in privacy see tangible returns through reduced costs from security incidents, improved customer retention, and enhanced market positioning, and partners increasingly value demonstrated compliance. Security leaders commonly turn to privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) like secure multi-party computing (SMPC), tokenization, anonymization, and confidential computing to keep data secure. These technologies have been around for a while and have unique data protection and compliance benefits, but they are not failproof.

Enter fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Long touted as the answer to continuous encryption, FHE offers all of the features and capabilities of other PETs and maintains end-to-end protection of data in all stages, including query and analysis, and during its transition across different lifecycle stages. Until recently, FHE also had its share of issues – namely, performance and scalability limitations and massive complexity – that have prevented its widespread use. This is all changing as new FHE innovations overcome the barriers that have limited its use to research labs and specialized demos. With speed and scalability that meet the real-time nature of modern digital businesses, FHE contributes to organizations’ data privacy efforts both strategically and operationally. Here’s how:

Enables secure data use and sharing: FHE allows organizations to analyze, share, and run computations on data without exposing sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII). In particular, FHE enables computations on encrypted or decentralized data, ensuring privacy during processing. The technology also facilitates secure collaboration with third parties without risking data breaches or unauthorized access.

Ensures regulatory compliance: FHE helps businesses comply with stringent data protection regulations by minimizing data collection, anonymizing datasets, and ensuring secure processing. By integrating FHE into core software architecture, companies can avoid hefty fines and legal consequences while demonstrating a “data protection by design” approach.

Mitigates privacy risks: FHE ensures that sensitive data remains encrypted throughout its lifecycle, allowing computations to be performed on encrypted data without decryption, thereby reducing the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Builds Consumer Trust: By incorporating FHE into their applications, companies demonstrate a commitment to protecting user privacy, which enhances transparency and builds trust. This is particularly critical as consumers increasingly demand responsible data stewardship.

Supports Innovation Without Compromising Privacy: FHE enables businesses to unlock the value of their data assets for AI, machine learning, and analytics while adhering to privacy principles. This allows organizations to innovate while maintaining ethical standards and protecting user information.

The writing is on the wall. The time for data security as a strategic initiative has come. FHE makes the dream of continuous encryption a reality, enabling organizations to move from reactive security measures to proactive, strategic data protection. Companies that leverage FHE in making data privacy a competitive advantage will lead the way in 2025 and beyond. The future belongs to those who protect it.