Privacy Engineering: Protecting PII and Sensitive Data in Modern Systems

In an era of increasing data breaches and strict global regulations, protecting user privacy is a core engineering requirement. Building systems that secure personally identifiable information (PII) requires a proactive, structured approach to data handling. This text-based course guides you through the fundamental principles of privacy engineering, helping you transition from basic security awareness to implementing robust data protection strategies. What you will learn: - Understand foundational privacy concepts, regulatory landscapes, and the definition of PII. - Map data flows within your architecture to identify where sensitive information lives. - Implement modern encryption standards and anonymization techniques to secure data. - Apply zero-trust architecture principles to restrict unauthorized access. - Design data retention and disposal policies that align with modern compliance standards. - Establish incident response protocols to effectively handle and mitigate potential data breaches. You will start with core definitions and privacy frameworks before moving into practical system design patterns, data minimization techniques, and modern security controls. This course is designed for beginner software engineers, system architects, and technical product managers who want to build privacy-first applications. No prior security experience is required. Start reading today to build trust with your users and secure your systems against modern privacy threats.