Security and privacy are paramount concerns in database systems, which are vital to business, government and military operations and, indeed, society itself. Meanwhile, the expansion of the Internet and its convergence with telecommunications networks are providing incredible connectivity, myriad applications and, of course, new threats. This text describes original research results and innovative practical developments, all focused on maintaining security and privacy in database systems and applications that pervade cyberspace. It is the 16th volume in the series produced by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 11.3 on Data and Application Security. It presents a selection of 25 updated and edited papers from the 16th Annual IFIP WG 11.3 Conference on Data and Application Security, held at King's College, Cambridge in July 2002. The papers demonstrate the richness and vitality of the discipline, and offer directions for future research efforts in data and applications security.