privileged information
Legally protected secrets
Privileged information is knowledge protected from disclosure by legal rules or professional ethics.
Attorney-client privilege shields what clients tell their lawyers.
Doctor-patient and priest-penitent relationships carry similar protections.
In business, privileged information includes trade secrets or insider knowledge that shouldn't be shared: Trading on privileged information about the merger got him indicted.
- classified documentsFiles with access restrictions
- medical recordsDocumented patient health history
- social security numbersUnique federal identification digits
- trade secretsProtected commercial knowledge
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
diplomatic cables · passwords · financial forecasts · whistleblower protection · intellectual property · non-disclosure agreement · military intelligence · state secrets · security clearance · eyes only · private correspondence · patient confidentiality · confidentiality clause · fiduciary duty · internal audits · legal immunity · sealed records · behind closed doors
privileged informationpublic information
Accessible-to-all data
public record · public knowledge · open data · common knowledge · general knowledge
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