How should we think about our claims to privacy and their relationship to security? Must we suppose that privacy should give way before the demands of security whenever the two cannot both be fully protected? This is the position presented by Sir David Omand on numerous occasions and, most recently, in his response to the revelations of Edward Snowden. However, this article shows, Omand's reasoning and conclusions are both problematic, as the protection of privacy is necessary to a democratic conception of people's claims to security.