ImageFlow - stock.adobe.com Black Hat Asia: Privacy and cyber security are inseparable The separation of privacy and security is no longer tenable in a world where exposed personal data is increasingly the entry point for major cyber incidents, delegates at Black Hat Asia 2026 were told Privacy is not a side issue to cyber security but a core part of it, as privacy failures can easily become security breaches, investigative journalist and author Violet Blue told delegates during the opening keynote at Black Hat Asia 2026 in Singapore. While terms like “privacy policy” and “anonymised data” can sound reassuring, they do not always mean privacy is truly protected, said Blue. She argued that the technology industry has too often treated privacy as optional while reserving urgency for security. This split, she suggested, is no longer tenable in a world where personal data is increasingly the entry point for major cyber incidents. Security professionals often believe “privacy is dead”, she said, leading them to “shrug and engage in practices they know they shouldn't”. Blue argued that the same business incentives eroding privacy also weaken security, warning that relentless data collection fuels surveillance-based business models and creates new attack paths. “Surveillance capitalism doesn’t just erode privacy, it creates an attack surface,” she said. “Every data broker is a target. Every adtech SDK [software development kit] is a supply chain risk. Every ‘we need this telemetry’ decision is a pre-positioned asset for a future breach.” While a common counterargument is that security carries a financial cost and privacy regulation is an added compliance burden, Blue said the incentives working against privacy are equally detrimental to security. She highlighted several high-profile incidents where exposed personal information was not just part of the fallout, but the weaponised entry point for the attack itself. In the