Government Sector Services

Everyday U.S. government departments and agencies collect, process, transmit or store personally identifiable information (“PII”) in the normal course of daily operations. This PII can be basic information such as a person’s name and address or much more sensitive such as a person’s social security number, passport number, medical information, or financial information. The most highly sensitive PII relates to the combination of information about an individual or individuals: relationships between individuals, historical transaction information, or case information about individuals. PII may pertain to government employees, individuals served by a particular department or agency, or people connected with those individuals (e.g., relatives). This information is entrusted to your department or agency with the expectation that you will maintain its privacy in accordance with the commitments made by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. These commitments are outlined both through federal legislation, Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, NIST guidance, as well as through individual department directives and policies.

The consequences of not properly managing your privacy program will likely result in information mis-use and cause:

• Legal action from privacy advocacy groups;
• Reputation damage and scrutiny for your agency and leadership;
• Relentless critical mainstream media coverage;
• Potential Congressional or GAO inquiries; and,
• At worst, the agency’s program is delayed or shut down.

If privacy commitments are ignored or risks are not properly managed, it is not a question of if such an outcome will occur, but a question of when it will occur.  The GAO has conducted numerous reviews of agency privacy programs that resulted in critical reports and testimony with titles such as:

• “Congress Should Consider Alternatives for Strengthening Protection of Personally Identifiable Information” testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate.
• “DHS Privacy Office Has Made Progress but Faces Continuing Challenges”
• “Health Information Technology: Efforts Continue but Comprehensive Privacy Approach Needed for National Strategy” before the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives.

It is reasonable to expect that additional GAO reviews may occur at your agency in the future and that you may be required to publicly defend your privacy program. We understand the requirements in the major Federal privacy laws below and can assist you in meeting your obligations under each of these statutes:

• Privacy Act of 1974
• The E-Government Act
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005
• The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA)

For more information on how Navigate LLC can assist your agency, please call (240) 475-3640 or send an email to governmentprivacy@navigatellc.net.