Editing Security (section)

{{short description|Degree of resistance to, or protection from, harm}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Security breach|the 2021 video game|Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach}}
[[File:"WAAC - SILENCE MEANS SECURITY" - NARA - 515987.jpg|thumb|[[Women's Army Corps]] (1941–1945) associated [[national security]] with avoiding conversations about war work.]]'''Security''' is protection from, or resilience against, [[potential]] harm (or other unwanted [[coercion]]). [[Beneficiary|Beneficiaries]] (technically [[referent]]s) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or phenomenon vulnerable to unwanted change. 
[[File:20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2.jpg|thumb|[[Refugee]]s fleeing war and insecurity in Iraq and Syria arrive at [[Lesbos Island]], supported by Spanish volunteers, 2015]]
Security mostly refers to protection from hostile forces, but it has a wide range of other senses: for example, as the absence of harm (e.g., [[freedom from want]]); as the presence of an essential good (e.g., [[food security]]); as [[Resilience (organizational)|resilience]] against potential damage or harm (e.g. secure foundations); as secrecy (e.g., a [[Telephone tapping|secure telephone line]]); as containment (e.g., a [[Safe room|secure room]] or [[Prison cell|cell]]); and as a state of mind (e.g., [[emotional security]]).

Security is both a feeling and a state of reality. One might feel secure when one is not actually so; or might feel insecure despite being safe. This distinction is usually not very clear to express in the English language.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schneier |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Schneier |title=The Difference Between Feeling and Reality in Security |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/04/securitymatters-0403/ |access-date=2024-05-06 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

The term is also used to refer to acts and systems whose purpose may be to provide security ([[security company]], [[security police]], [[security forces]], [[security service (disambiguation)|security service]], [[security agency]], [[security guard]], [[Computer security|cyber security systems]], [[Closed-circuit television|security cameras]], [[remote guarding]]). Security can be [[Physical security|physical]] and [[Computer security|virtual]].