The Practical Privacy Series Issue May 2007 • Volume 7 • Number 5 Data Breach Financial Services Pharma/Healthcare Editor: Kirk J. Nahra N.H. Pharma Law May Set Precedent for Other States Luis Salazar, CIPP ew Hampshire has become the unlikely front in the latest battle between the pharmaceutical industry and privacy advocates. In June 2006, New Hampshire passed its “Prescription Confidentiality Act,” which bars the license, transfer, use or sale for any commercial purpose of patient-identifiable or prescriber-identifiable information. Supporters of the law argue that it protects the privacy of doctors and patients who use prescriptions, while at the same time helping control the rising healthcare costs. But the pharmaceutical industry — which has N outcome will likely have nationwide dubbed it the “Prescription Restraint impact, as at least six other states have Law” — argue that the measure is as similar pending legislation. At the federal unconstitutional as it is wrong-headed. level, several congressmen have introThey assert that the law will limit valuduced The Prescription Privacy Protection able information provided to prescribing Act, which would enact a similar law. doctors and researchers, all to the ultimate detriment of patients. More than just a philo“Honey, Are You Sitting sophical battle, privacy supDown?” porters — represented by the Rep. Cindy Rosenwald state of New Hampshire — sponsored the Prescription and the pharmaceutical indusConfidentiality Act, New try — led by IMS Health Hampshire House Bill 1346, Incorporated and Verispan, in early 2006. Her husband — LLC — recently concluded a a cardiologist — had alerted five-day trial precipitated by her to a pharmaceutical sales the pharmaceutical industry’s challenge to the law. The trial’s See, N.H. Pharma Law, page 3 Luis Salazar, CIPP Defensible Process vs. Tactical Defense A World of Difference Ted Frank and Brett Curran he history of risk management and compliance in the financial services industry offers examples of companies that responded to certain risks in purely tactical ways. In many of these cases, the results were difficult for everyone — consumers were hurt, investors incurred losses, corporations lost brand equity and employees lost opportunities — and sometimes their jobs. Yet history tends to repeat itself and companies continue to respond tactically to compliance mandates and key risks. Why do so many companies lack a T comprehensive, proactive strategy and operating plan for managing risk and compliance? While there are undoubtedly dozens of reasons, three seem to consistently rise above the rest. Analyzing and coming to terms with these three reasons can help transform an organization’s efforts into much more sustainable and defensible risk/compliance programs. Reason #1: “My area of risk is unique and warrants different treatment than all others.” One could easily argue that privacy is unique in the world of risk management. There are few areas of risk where the threats are changing as quickly. Whether it’s the rapid advancement of This Month J. Trevor Hughes on the President’s Identity Theft Task Force Report .....Page 2 The E-Medical Records Privacy Debate ..................................Page 7 How-to Guide: Information Security Breaches .............................Page 9 The Lighter Side of Privacy...............Page 13 Impact of New Federal Pretexting Law ..................................Page 14 IAPP in the News..............................Page 16 Web Watch: Back-end Systems .......Page 18 Calendar of Events............................Page 19 Privacy News ....................................Page 20 Privacy Classifieds ............................Page 21 Certification Graduates ..................... Page 22 Career Corner....................................Page 23 See, Process vs. Defense, page 5 May • 2007 THE PRIVACY ADVISOR Editor Kirk J. Nahra, CIPP Wiley Rein LLP [email protected] +202.719.7335 Managing Editor Ann E. Donlan, CIPP [email protected] +207.351.1500 X109 Publications Manager Ali Forman [email protected] +207.351.1500 The Privacy Advisor (ISSN: 1532-1509) is published monthly by the International Association of Privacy Professionals and distributed only to IAPP members. ADVISORY BOARD Elise Berkower, CIPP, Executive Vice President of Privacy Strategy, Chapell & Associates Keith P. Enright, Director, Customer Information Management, Limited Brands, Inc. Philip L. Gordon, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson, P.C. Brian Hengesbaugh, Partner, Privacy/Information Technology/E-Commerce, Baker & McKenzie LLP Todd A. Hood, CIPP, Director, Regional Privacy, The Americas, Pitney Bowes Inc. Ben Isaacson, CIPP, Privacy & Compliance Leader, Experian & CheetahMail Jacqueline Klosek, CIPP, Senior Associate in the Business Law Department and member of Intellectual Property Group, Goodwin Procter LLP Lydia E. Payne-Johnson, CIPP, LPJohnson Consulting, LLC Billy J. Spears, CIPP/G, Senior Manager of Privacy and Information Protection, Dell, Inc. Harry A. Valetk, CIPP, Director, Privacy Online, Entertainment Software Rating Board To Join the IAPP, call: +800.266.6501 Advertising and Sales, call: +800.266.6501 Postmaster Send address changes to: IAPP 266 York Street York, ME 03909 Subscription Price The The Privacy Advisor is a benefit of membership to the IAPP. Nonmember subscriptions are available at $199 per year. Requests to Reprint Ann E. Donlan [email protected] +207.351.1500 X109 Notes from the Executive Director A fter nearly a year of work, the President’s Identity Theft Task Force recently issued its comprehensive strategic plan for the government’s coordinated approach to fight identity theft. The report documents the challenges that privacy professionals grapple with everyday — whether they work in the public or private sectors. The report notes that in the past eight years, identity theft has “become more complex and challenging for the general public, the government, and the private sector.” It’s no mistake that the IAPP’s inception and maturity into the world leader of privacy networking, education and certification occurred during that same eight years. We have been part of the solution, and organizations have come to count on us to help them understand the privacy and security challenges they face as well as the potential solutions. Innovation has thrived during those eight years. The crooks have stayed ahead of the curve, constantly forcing organizations to do the same to thwart them. Lawmakers at the state and federal level have responded with laws intended to help consumers. Regulators have done their part too. But as the report points out, the steady stream of revelations about security breaches is leaving consumers feeling “vulnerable and uncertain of how to protect their identities.” Despite the emphasis in the media on security breaches, the task force’s report calls into question the actual link between a data breach and ID theft. However, the damage is done as the barrage of security breach details serve to fuel “consumers’ fears of identity thieves gaining access to sensitive consumer information,” which then undermines consumer confidence, according to the report. The task force gives credit where credit is due in the private sector: “Many private sector organizations understand their vulnerabilities and have made significant strides in incorporating data security into their operations or improving existing security program.” Predictably, the task force stresses that “further improvements are necessary.” In addition to data security safeguards that businesses need to adopt, the task force singles out the need for “improvement by businesses in planning for and responding to data breaches.” Enter the IAPP. Our efforts to deliver the most urgent and relevant educational opportunities is again right on target. Next month, we are launching three new events, The Practical Privacy Series, June 27-28 in New York City — and one of the intensive events is solely focused on data breach response. The June 27 sessions are designed to provide attendees with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to proactively identify and manage risks while effectively planning for the worst. The next day, The Practical Privacy Series will allow attendees to choose between two different events, Pharma/Healthcare or Financial Services. Whatever your focus, we have assembled the profession’s leading privacy experts and practitioners to arm you with the practical tools and knowledge you need to return to your organizations with solutions. So please join us at the City University of New York in Manhattan for the launch of our newest educational programming! Copyright 2007 by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. All rights reserved. Facsimile reproduction, including photocopy or xerographic reproduction, is strictly prohibited under copyright laws. 2 www.privacyassociation.org J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP Executive Director, IAPP THE PRIVACY ADVISOR N.H. Pharma Law continued from page 1 representative’s intimate knowledge of his prescription histories. In fact, although most consumers are completely unaware of it, there is a long-established and widespread practice of collecting specific information from pharmacies about every prescription they fill and selling it to pharmaceutical manufacturers. In Rosenwald’s view, as expressed in the bill’s introduction, “Not only is patient identity inappropriately used for pharmaceutical marketing, but the identity of the prescribers — doctors, nurse practitioners, optometrists and assistants — is routinely bought and sold for marketing. … The use of personal identities prove an unwarranted intrusion into professional privacy and, more to the point, it adds to the financial burden of New Hampshire’s health care system by increased pharmaceutical costs for the state, our consumers, and our businesses.” The law bars any pharmacy, pharmacy benefits manager, insurance company or other similar entity from licensing, transferring, using or selling prescription information containing patient-identifiable and prescriber-identifiable data for commercial purposes, other than the limited purposes of pharmacy reimbursement, care management and the like. It also specifically defines “commercial purpose” as including advertising, marketing, promotion or any activity that could be used to influence sales or market share of a pharmaceutical product, influence or evaluate the prescribing behavior of an individual healthcare professional, or evaluate the effectiveness of a professional pharmaceutical sales force. It does not bar, however, the collection and use of patient and prescriber “de-identified” data by zip code, geographic region, or medical specialty for commercial purposes. It specifies that a violation of these terms is considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice, subjecting violators to civil and potentially criminal penalties. It is interesting to note that the law passed quickly and almost unanimously, and, according to the Nashua Telegraph, prompted Rosenwald’s cell phone call and excited exclamation to her husband, “Honey, are you sitting down? Guess what just happened?!” Rosenwald attributed the swift passage to the simple fact that “New Hampshire folks don’t like people invading their privacy.” But at the same time, there were supposed economic concerns underlying its adoption, since legislators were of the opinion that pharmaceutical sales representatives used the information to drive the prescription of higher-priced medicine. New Hampshire’s Medicaid costs for prescription drugs have risen 84 percent in the last five years. The Industry’s Challenge A variety of pharmaceutical and medical players, including the New Hampshire Association of Chain Drug Stores, scientists from the Mayo Clinic and at least two health information companies, IMS Health and Verispan, LLC, opposed the measure. With $1.7 billion in annual sales, IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Similarly, Verispan provides a broad array of information, products and services to the healthcare industry, including market research audits, healthcare profiles and pharmaceutical data analysis and consulting. To these companies and others, the law is a step in the wrong direction. “By effectively denying access to prescriber-identified data, the new law will have significant unintended consequences and go against the national movement towards making healthcare information more accessible and transparent,” stated Robert H. Steinfeld, IMS Senior Vice President and General Counsel, in an IMS news release: “The success of initiatives to improve health care quality, and ensure patient safety and manage costs depends on access to more information, not less.” The opposition further points out that the database it creates with this pharmaceutical information is used for research that benefits all patients. As 266 York Street York, ME 03909 Phone: +800.266.6501 or +207.351.1500 Fax: +207.351.1501 Email: [email protected] The Privacy Advisor is the official monthly newsletter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. All active association members automatically receive a subscription to The Privacy Advisor as a membership benefit. For details about joining IAPP, please use the above contact information. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Kirk M. Herath, CIPP/G, Associate Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, Associate General Counsel, Nationwide Insurance Companies, Columbus, Ohio Vice President Sandra R. Hughes, CIPP, Global Privacy Executive, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio Treasurer/Past President Chris Zoladz, CIPP, Vice President, Information Protection, Marriott International, Bethesda, Md. Assistant Treasurer David Hoffman, CIPP, Group Counsel and Director of Privacy & Security, Intel Corp., Germany Secretary Jonathan D. Avila, CIPP, Vice President - Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer, The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, Calif. Executive Director J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP, York, Maine John Berard, CIPP, Managing Director, Zeno Group, San Francisco, Calif. Malcolm Crompton, Managing Director, Information Integrity Solutions Pty Ltd., Chippendale, Australia Peter Cullen, CIPP, Chief Privacy Strategist, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash. Peter Fleischer, Privacy Counsel – Europe, Google, Paris, France Dean Forbes, CIPP, Global Privacy Officer, Schering-Plough Corp., Kenilworth, N.J. D. Reed Freeman, Jr., CIPP, Partner, Kelley, Drye & Warren, Washington, D.C. Kimberly Gray, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Highmark, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. Jean-Paul Hepp, CIPP, Corporate Privacy Officer, Pfizer Inc., New York, N.Y. Jane Horvath, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, U.S. Department of Justice Barbara Lawler, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Intuit, Mountain View, Calif. Kirk Nahra, CIPP, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, D.C. Nuala O’Connor Kelly, CIPP/G, Chief Privacy Leader and Senior Counsel, General Electric Company, Washington, D.C. Harriet Pearson, CIPP, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Chief Privacy Officer, IBM Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. Lauren Steinfeld, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. Zoe Strickland, CIPP/G, Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, Wal-Mart Amy Yates, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Hewitt Associates, Lincolnshire, Ill See, N.H. Pharma Law, page 24 International Association of Privacy Professionals 3 May • 2007 THE PRIVACY ADVISOR Process vs. Defense continued from page 1 ry defense into better operating efficiencies and a more agile, effective privacy risk management program. Finally, a successful business case in most areas of risk management requires a plan that has simple, incremental steps toward a more comprehensive vision. Too few executives have experience with proactive risk/compliance projects, but they are looking for ways to say yes — which typically means incremental investment with measurable milestones. technology attacks or the astounding increase in the sophistication of social Reason #2: “It’s tough to get the engineering, it’s hard to imagine many budget necessary to address comareas of risk with the same dynamic pliance proactively. It’s much easier pace of continual change. Information is after things go wrong.” essential in the information economy Developing a compelling business and an inescapable component of corcase has long been one of the biggest porate value. As a result, effective colchallenges facing those managing enterlection, protection and utilization of Reason #3: “There are so many prise-wide risk or specific areas, such as information are key components of areas that need attention; it’s often privacy. The challenge is that many combusiness strategy. difficult to determine where to pliance specialists have yet to develop a Sounds like a case for stating privacompelling proactive business case. To start.” cy is unique, doesn’t it? The answer is achieve success, a clear and compreIf resources were readily available both yes and no. It’s unique in that prihensive strategy is required that incorfor investment, the question of where to vacy is subject to one of the most rapid porates quick wins to address the most target those resources is easily rates of change. It’s unique in that it pressing concern, privacy in answered by the U.S. Supreme surrounds a broad corporate asset this case, and begins to Court’s Seven Elements of an which is increasing in value at a breakestablish the fundamental Effective Compliance and neck pace. But these unique characterprocesses and supporting Ethics Program. However, istics don’t have much to do with technology that can be given resource realities in most underlying risk management principles repeated across a variety of situations, and barring a major or processes. If anything, these factors compliance requirements. direct or industry failure, securonly increase the importance of buildFormulating a business case ing this level of commitment is ing a defensible process and resisting a is tough for a number of reaoften difficult and pushes an tactical response to individual circumsons. First, few organizaEffective Compliance Program stances. There are consistencies in the tions have a handle on the into more of a vision. Even so, underlying process. Is there really that Ted Frank actual direct cost of privacy there are many incremental much difference among the processes compliance and all of its steps that can be undertaken for effectively managing financial associated processes. Other hurdles to move the organization forward. reporting risk and the include a grasp on the indiDepending on the circumstances and processes for managing prirect costs associated with maturity of the program, any of the folvacy risk? lost marketing opportunities, lowing make strong starting points and Take money laundering reputational damage and fear fit neatly into the constructs of an for example. When it comes of being too aggressive in the Effective Compliance Program: to regulatory enforcement marketplace. actions and building effective The second business • Privacy Inventory — Given the finanlegal defenses, the U.S. govcase challenge has more to cial services industry’s merger and ernment clearly takes the do with context and demonacquisition activity, and the rapidly growview that one process can be strating value. Privacy profesing and exposed data stores from such applied to different areas of sionals are often challenged initiatives as Web-based account manrisk/compliance across a Brett Curran to simply get through the agement, customer portfolio analytics matrix organization with cenbasic administrative components of and increased integration of customer tral oversight. These entities use an their programs. As a result, they lack data across a financial services company enforcement standard — an Effective the time to work with other executives and its partners, it is becoming increasCompliance Program — developed and and determine how their programs can ingly important for organizations to published by The United States improve business and present new implement specific processes for continSentencing Commission. This standard is opportunities. Building a consistent, uous identification of privacy risks. used, in combination with a degree of defensible process that, at a minimum, Through formal assessment processes, self-reporting, to determine penalties, jail covers the downside is a first step organizations can continually keep fresh time and fines. But the benefits of a toward creating the necessary time to strong, consistent and defensible focus on extending the process to process extend far beyond legal/regulatoSee, Process vs. Defense, page 6 address other risk areas. International Association of Privacy Professionals 5 May • 2007 Process vs. Defense continued from page 5 inventories of what privacy-related information exists, who has access to the information and for what purposes. Only with this information can organizations map the risks and regulations that apply to financial services companies. • Privacy Framework — Given the growth of regulations in the U.S. and the world, companies are constantly challenged to keep the multitude of mandates that apply to their organizations straight. In fact, in a February 2007 Gartner Research study, the firm forecasted that worldwide regulations focused on IT operations will double over the next five years. One can only assume that a good portion of this increase will directly relate to privacy. Starting with organizing frameworks such as the Generally Accepted Privacy Principles and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are a good way to start organizing your understanding of the privacy risks that apply to your business. • Procedure/Control Design Assessment — Assuming an organization has mapped all operational and legal/regulatory risks, most then move to ensure that they have defined an appropriate set of procedures to control one or more risks. Often through a self assessment, organizations can effective- “It is becoming increasingly important for organizations to implement specific processes for continuous identification of privacy risks.” 6 www.privacyassociation.org ly catalogue and evaluate the procedures that currently exist or need to be developed. Without these controls mapped to the organizing framework, it is extremely difficult to continually monitor and assess the performance of a privacy program. To keep the job manageable, many start by addressing specific regulations or groups of regulations such as the Bank Secrecy Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Payment Card Industry/Data Security Standard and security breach notification. Once even one of these is implemented, the road map has been laid for easier rollout to others. • Communication and Training — One of the most important components of the Effective Compliance Program is establishing effective communication. Clean, consistent and measurable communication through policies, procedures and training to the appropriate employees, brokers, agents and contractors is crucial. In addition, organizations must have an effective and managed mechanism for employees to seek guidance. • Performance Assessment — In a recent survey conducted by the Open Compliance and Ethics Group and Axentis, 76 percent of privacy professionals indicated that assessing the performance of their own privacy program is an urgent concern. Given that 65 percent of these same respondents also indicated measurable increases in external privacy program scrutiny, it’s no surprise that many organizations are sharply focused on ensuring this part of their program is functioning effectively. • Incident Management (Corrective Action) — Most organizations have now recognized that a spreadsheet is no way to manage the response and remediation of issues, breaches and inquiries with respect to their privacy program. Organizations should have a process that is consistent, predictable and measurable. Having inconsistent remediation for similar incidents can create substantial liability, and metrics are critical for identifying systemic design and performance problems. “… 76 percent of privacy professionals indicated that assessing the performance of their own privacy program is an urgent concern.” What all of these “places to start” have in common is that they tie directly to the Effective Compliance Program enforcement standard. Even acting on one of these items can have a significant impact and move the organization toward a defensible process. Tactical fixes such as hardware, perimeter protection and encryption are important, but not enough, given that the threats are multiplying exponentially. The question isn’t “will a breach or failure occur,” but “when an inevitable breach or failure occurs, will we be able to demonstrate a defensible process.” Better to begin the process now. Along the way, the process may even change the posture of privacy from one of cost to one of value. Ted Frank is the President of Axentis. He can be reached at [email protected]. Brett Curran is Director of GRC and Privacy Practices at Axentis. He may be reached at [email protected]. About Axentis: Axentis delivers an on-demand business performance optimization environment that empowers companies to turn governance, risk and compliance (GRC) initiatives into better business performance and competitive advantage. With its unique, industry only software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, Axentis Enterprise (Ae) Suite delivers a one-world view of the entire organization for better risk management, mitigation and compliance. THE PRIVACY ADVISOR The Debate Over Computerized Health Record Privacy Shifts Toward Privacy Protections David Ermer fter a 3-year investment to achieve President Bush’s mandate to create a national e-medical records system, the focus of the computerized health records discussions in Washington has shifted to privacy protections. In his 2004 State of the Union address, President Bush challenged the nation to eliminate paper medical records within a decade. The president followed up with an Executive Order on April 27, 2004, that called for the widespread deployment of health information technology within 10 years. Since then, there have been many Congressional hearings on the topic of computerized health records that focused on achieving the Bush administration’s mandate to improve healthcare quality and reduce healthcare spending. But since Democrats took control in Washington nearly four months ago, lawmakers have focused more intently on the need for stronger privacy protections in any nationwide system of digital medical records. A Developments in 2007 On Feb. 1, 2007, Sen. Daniel Akaka chaired a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on “Private Health Records: Privacy Implications of the Federal Government’s Health Information Technology Initiative.” The Government Accountability Office presented a report concluding that Health and Human Services (HHS) needs to create a stronger business plan for incorporating privacy and security milestones into its health information technology expansion plans. Dr. Robert Kolodner, the HHS Interim National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, explained at the hearing that HHS will develop those milestones once it receives a baseline report on state privacy laws from the National Governors Association’s Privacy Taskforce in the second quarter of 2007. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen later explained to the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference that: technology is launching without adequate built-in privacy and security standards. He complained that HHS Secretary Leavitt is not implementing the NCVHS privacy and security recommendations made in a June 22, 2006, NCVHS letter. Akaka appears interested in a legislative David Ermer remedy, such as expanding the scope of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security provisions. “The [NGA’s] Privacy Taskforce is now charged with looking at the major state Before the month was over, Paul health privacy laws with an eye to how Feldman, Deputy Director of the Health they affect the ability to achieve a Privacy Project, resigned as co-chair of workable sharing of information. It is the American Health Information then charged with making recommenCommunity’s (AHIC) confidentiality, pridations as to how to address such vacy and security workgroup in protest issues. It will work with the Health of the group’s allegedly slow pace. In Information Privacy and Security response to this resignation, the chair of Collaboration that 33 states and Puerto the House Ways and Means health subRico have begun. Every state has laws committee, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., on the books that never envisioned said in a written statement: interoperable health records, and we need to point the way to cleaning up this landscape.” “The only way health information technology will take off is if people have confidence that their sensitive Also at the Feb. 1 hearing, Mark medical information will be protected. Rothstein, a law professor who sits on an Without this assurance, we will never HHS advisory board, the National be able to realize the benefits that Committee for Vital and Health Statistics electronic systems offer. Democrats (NCVHS), warned that health information pushed for privacy protections during last year's debate, but our pleas fell on deaf ears. I hope that the GAO “HHS needs to create a report and Mr. Feldman's resignation will finally be the wake-up call this stronger business plan administration needs to begin taking for incorporating privacy this issue seriously.” and security milestones into its health information technology expansion plans.” At the HIMSS conference on March 1, in an apparent effort to counter these developments, Dr. Kolodner announced that HHS plans to contract for a pilot See, E-Medical Records, page 8 International Association of Privacy Professionals 7 May • 2007 E-Medical Records continued from page 7 “network of networks” that would allow healthcare consumers to control the flow of their own electronic health information. Dr. Kolodner explained that the government’s requests for proposals on a trial implementation of the National Health Information Network (NHIN) will require bidders to include specific technical capabilities for enabling such consumer control. Computerized health records fall into two basic categories, personal health records, or PHRs, and electronic health records, or EHRs. PHRs generally are created by health plans and insurers for their members based on benefit claims records while EHRs are created by healthcare providers for their patients based on the medical care provided. Efforts are under way to make PHRs and EHRs transportable and interoperable. HHS is working with others to develop the NHIN, which would serve as a nationwide patient registry for “While the HIPAA law treats healthcare claim clearinghouses as covered entities, it did not contemplate the creation of healthcare record clearinghouses… .” electronic health records maintained locally. Provider medical records are subject to HIPAA privacy and security rules if the provider, also known as a HIPAA-covered entity, engages in electronic claim transactions. Because Medicare generally mandates the submission of electronic claims, except for small practices, most facilities and medical groups are HIPAA-covered entities. However, gaps in the HIPAA privacy and security rule coverage do exist among providers, and often the state privacy laws applicable to those non-covered entities are not as strict as the HIPAA rules. While the HIPAA law treats healthcare claim clearinghouses as covered entities, it did not contemplate the creation of healthcare record clearinghouses such as the regional health care organizations, or RHIOs, and the NHIN. Health plan and insurer claim records that form the basis for PHRs are subject to the HIPAA privacy and security rules. Because the HIPAA law expressly was developed to encourage the use of electronic claim transactions, one might expect that there would be less controversy over PHR privacy protections, but that is not the case. At its March 13, 2007 meeting, HHS‘s American Health Information Community approved, with some dissension, a consumer empowerment workgroup recommendation that product certification be made available for insurer record-based personal health records, according to Government HIT magazine and Healthcare IT News. The dissidents complained that certification is premature and could stifle innovation and that certification standards cannot assure privacy and security protections. The tensions are evident as the nation’s healthcare providers increasingly move toward paperless records. But with all the promises of built-in privacy protections, and the doubts of skeptical healthcare consumers, the outcome is not yet certain. Congress is focusing attention on privacy and other data security issues with legislation, including the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007 (S. 495) and the Personalized Health Information Act of 2007 (H.R. 1368). The ongoing debate is worth your attention. David Ermer is the Managing Partner of Gordon & Ermer, Washington, D.C. He is general counsel to a trade association of Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans. Read David Ermer’s blog at www.gordon-ermer.com/FEHBlog.html, or reach him at +202.833.3400. 8 www.privacyassociation.org THE PRIVACY ADVISOR A How-To Guide to Information Security Breaches Lisa J. Sotto and Aaron P. Simpson breach must look beyond the language of the “typical” state law in the event of a national, or even multiState Security Breach state, incident. The variaNotification Laws tions among state breach Public awareness was notification laws greatly not focused in earnest on complicates the legal analysecurity breaches until sis as to whether the 2005, fully two years after breach laws are triggered California enacted a law with respect to a particular requiring organizations to event. Because most notify affected Californians breaches impact individuals of a security breach. At the Aaron P. Simpson in multiple jurisdictions, time of enactment, few companies often must take a “highest understood the enormous implications common denominator” approach to of that law. Since 2005, 35 other states, achieve legal compliance. as well as New York City, Washington, Key areas of variation among state D.C. and Puerto Rico, have jumped on breach notification laws include: the bandwagon and enacted breach notification laws of their own. In addi• Affected Media: Under most state Background tion, numerous federal security breach breach laws, notification is required Since 2005, there have been bills have been proposed. With no clear only if “computerized” data has been reports of over 500 security breaches, frontrunner, it is hard to predict when a accessed or acquired by an unauthomany of which have involved the most federal law might be passed, though a rized individual. In some states, howrespected organizations in the United federal preemptive law appears likely. ever, including North Carolina, Hawaii, States, according to the Privacy Rights At the state level, the duty to notify Indiana and Wisconsin, organizations Clearinghouse. In fact, the number of individuals affected by a breach generalthat suffer breaches involving paper reported incidents does not begin to ly arises when there is a reasonable records are required to notify affected define the actual number of breaches belief that unencrypted, computerized individuals. that have occurred in the United States sensitive personal information has been during the past two years. From univeracquired or accessed by an unauthorized • Definition of “ Personal sities to government agencies to person. Typically, the state laws define Information”: Breach notification laws Fortune 500 companies, no industry “personal information” to include an in some states expand the definition of sector has been spared. These breaches individual’s first name or first initial and personal information to include data have run the gamut from lost backup last name, combined with one of the elements such as medical information tapes and laptops, to hacking incidents, three following data elements: (Arkansas, Puerto Rico), biometric data to organized crime. The (Nebraska, North Carolina, Wisconsin), reported breaches are esti• Social Security number; digital signatures (North Carolina, mated to have exposed North Dakota), date of birth (North personal information con• driver’s license or state Dakota), employee identification numtained in over 100 million identification card number (North Dakota), mother’s maiden records. Consequently, a ber, or name (North Dakota), and tribal identifisignificant percentage of cation card numbers (Wyoming). the American public has • financial account, credit or received notification that debit card number, along • Notification to State Agencies: Many the security of their perwith a required password states require entities that have sufsonal information has been or access code. fered a breach to notify state agencies. breached. Indeed, it seems that hardly a day goes by Unfortunately, entities without a new press report struggling with a potential See, Information Security Breaches, page 10 Lisa J. Sotto ontrary to what the headlines suggest, information security breaches are not a new phenomena. What is new is that we are hearing about them in record numbers. While consumers are newly focused on information security due to the emergence of e-commerce, the reason security breaches now seem ubiquitous is a result of the development of a body of state laws requiring companies to notify affected individuals in the event of a breach. The differing requirements of over 35 state security breach notification laws make legal compliance a challenge for organizations operating on a national level. C of a significant security breach. International Association of Privacy Professionals 9 May • 2007 Information Security Breaches continued from page 9 Currently, the states that require such notification include Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, organizations must notify the state government within ten days of detecting a breach. In New Jersey, the breach notification law requires entities to notify the state police prior to notifying affected individuals. • Notification to Credit Reporting Agencies: While the threshold for notification differs among the state laws, many states require organizations that suffer a breach to notify the three national consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Transunion). Among the states with this requirement, the state with the lowest threshold requires notification to the credit reporting agencies in the event 500 state residents must be notified in accordance with the notification requirement. • Timing of Notification to Affected Individuals: Most state notification laws require notification to affected individuals within “the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.” Some states, such as Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin, require notification within 45 days of discovering the breach. • Harm Threshold: Some states (e.g., Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin) require notification of affected individuals only if there is a reasonable possibility of identity theft. Other states (e.g., Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Vermont) do not require notification unless it has been determined that misuse of the information has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur. And in other states (e.g., Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii and Louisiana) notification is not required unless there is a reasonable likelihood of harm to customers. For organizations that suffer multi-state 10 www.privacyassociation.org security breaches, any harm threshold is irrelevant as a practical matter because many state breach notification laws do not contain such a threshold. Federal Enforcement In addition to the compliance maze at the state level, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has enforcement authority in the privacy arena pursuant to Section 5 of the FTC Act. Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive trade practices. The FTC recently has brought a number of enforcement actions pursuant to Section 5 stemming from security breaches. In fact, most of the enforcement actions brought by the FTC in the privacy arena have resulted from security issues. Some of the more noteworthy FTC enforcement actions stemming from security breaches have included those against BJ’s Wholesale Club, “As our society becomes increasingly information dependent, it is likely that there will be an increase in FTC enforcement associated with security breaches. In fact, in response to heightened consumer concern and an increased need for regulatory oversight in this arena, the FTC recently established a new division of Privacy and Identity Protection. This signals a new FTC focus on data privacy and security, along with what will likely be a concomitant increase in enforcement.” CardSystems, Choice-Point and DSW. The CardSystems case highlights the significant reputational risk associated with privacy events generally, and security breaches in particular. In this case, over 40 million credit and debit card holders’ information was accessed by hackers leading to millions of dollars in fraudulent purchases. In its enforcement action, the FTC alleged that the company’s failure to take appropriate action to protect personal information about millions of consumers was tantamount to an unfair trade practice. As part of its settlement with the FTC, CardSystems agreed to implement a comprehensive information security program and conduct audits of the program biennially for 20 years. The real punishment, however, was the reputational damage the company suffered in the wake of the breach. Both Visa and Discover severed their relationship with CardSystems and the company ultimately was sold to an electronic payment company in Silicon Valley. As our society becomes increasingly information dependent, it is likely that there will be an increase in FTC enforcement associated with security breaches. In fact, in response to heightened consumer concern and an increased need for regulatory oversight in this arena, the FTC recently established a new division of Privacy and Identity Protection. This signals a new FTC focus on data privacy and security, along with what will likely be a concomitant increase in enforcement. Managing a Data Breach If a possible breach occurs, it is critical to determine as quickly as possible whether the event triggers a requirement to notify affected individuals. To make this determination, organizations must be able to answer the following questions: 1. What information was involved? Does the compromised information meet the definition of “personal information” under any of the state breach notification laws? As discussed above, certain states have adopted expansive May • 2007 definitions of “personal information” for purposes of their breach notification laws. These broader definitions must be considered in analyzing the information involved in the event. 2. Was the information computerized? In most states, only incidents involving computerized information require individual notification. But special attention should be paid to the laws in those states in which notification is required for incidents involving personal information in any form, including paper. 3. Was the information encrypted? Encryption is available as a safe harbor under every extant state security breach notification law. Importantly, all of the relevant laws are technologyneutral, meaning they do not prescribe specific encryption technology. If the information is maintained in an unreadable format, then it may be considered encrypted for purposes of the state breach laws. Encryption does not, however, include password-protection on equipment such as desktop computers, laptop computers and portable storage devices. As a result, many organizations have been required to notify affected individuals when laptop computers subject to password-protection have been lost or stolen. 4. Is there a reasonable belief that personal information was accessed or acquired by an unauthorized person? If an entity has a reasonable belief that the information was compromised by an unauthorized person, notification is required. Note that a number of state breach notification laws contain a harm threshold whereby notification is not required unless there is reasonable possibility of harm, misuse or identity theft (see above). Organizations should be wary of relying on harm thresholds, however, because they are not included in many state breach laws and thus may not be available in the event of a multistate breach. Because breaches come in all shapes and sizes, many of them require THE PRIVACY ADVISOR and stock drops stemming from early security breaches made sure of that. It is often advisable to involve the Board of Directors (or its equivalent) and senior management soon after learning of a security breach affecting the organization. “Encryption is available as a safe harbor under every extant state security breach notification law. Importantly, all of the relevant laws are technology-neutral, meaning they do not prescribe specific encryption technology.” significant technical analysis to answer these questions. Organizations often must enlist the assistance of highly skilled forensic investigators to assist with the evaluation of their systems. Recognize the Stakeholders Once an organization has determined that the breach notification laws have been triggered, it is important to understand the panoply of stakeholders throughout the breach process. Depending on the type of organization involved, the potential universe of stakeholders is extensive and may include: • Affected Individuals: Individuals affected by a security breach are the primary focus for every organization during the notification process. Although the breach may not have occurred as a result of any misdeeds by the organization suffering the breach, in the eyes of consumers, employees and other affected individuals, the organization is responsible for the data it collects and maintains. As a result, regardless of the circumstances, an organization suffering a security breach should be appropriately helpful and respectful to individuals whose data may have been compromised. • Board of Directors/Senior Management: Information security is no longer an area of a company that is relegated to the dusty basement. Front-page headlines • Law Enforcement: Depending on the nature of the event, it may be important to report the security breach to law enforcement authorities for purposes of conducting an investigation. The state security breach laws allow organizations to delay notifying affected individuals pending a law enforcement investigation. New Jersey’s breach notification law makes it a legal requirement to notify law enforcement prior to notifying affected individuals. • State and Federal Regulators: In addition to the laws’ requirements to notify state regulators, organizations should give serious consideration to notifying the FTC in the event of a significant security breach. Proactively notifying the FTC, while not a legal requirement, provides an organization with the opportunity to frame the circumstances of the breach and provide appropriate context. Because the FTC will undoubtedly learn about every significant security breach, organizations are well-advised to tell the story themselves rather than have the FTC learn about the breach from unfavorable media reports. • Financial Markets: For publicly-traded companies, some security breaches rise to the level of reportable events. In these cases, it may be necessary to notify the Securities and Exchange Commission and the relevant exchange of the breach. • Payment Card Issuers: To the extent payment cards are involved, it is often essential to consult the card issuers as early as possible in the process. Organizations should review their contractual obligations with the card issuers because there are likely to be See, Information Security Breaches, page 12 International Association of Privacy Professionals 11 May • 2007 Information Security Breaches continued from page 11 provisions relevant to a security breach. In addition, the card issuers may require organizations suffering breaches to file formal incident reports. Depending on the scope of the breach, the card issuers also may require that an independent audit be conducted by their own auditors. • Employees: In some cases, employees of the organization should be notified of an incident affecting customers. Many employees care deeply about the entity for which they work. To the extent the organization’s reputation may be tarnished by the event, employees will not want to be left in the dark about the incident. • Shareholders: Public companies that suffer breaches must consider their shareholders in the aftermath of a breach. The investor relations department should be mobilized in the event of a significant breach to respond to investors’ concerns. • Auditors: In some cases, security breaches may need to be reported to a company’s auditors. • Public: Security breaches often ignite the passions of the public at-large. In managing the process of notification, organizations should give careful consideration to the anticipated public response to the incident. In many cases, it is helpful to work with experienced public relations consultants. The risk to an organization’s reputation stemming from a security breach far exceeds the risk associated with legal compliance. Thus, it is imperative in responding to a security breach to consider measures that will mitigate the harm to an organization’s reputation. Timing of Notification Once the extent and scope of the incident have been defined and it is determined that notification is required, the next step is to notify affected indi12 www.privacyassociation.org “The risk to an organization’s reputation stemming from a security breach far exceeds the risk associated with legal compliance. Thus, it is imperative in responding to a security breach to consider measures that will mitigate the harm to an organization’s reputation.” viduals. Most state security breach laws require organizations that suffer a breach to notify affected individuals “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.” In several states, notification is required within 45 days of the date the incident was discovered. Under both timeframes, the date of actual notification may be delayed by the exceptions available in most states for law enforcement investigations and restoring system security. Pursuant to the law enforcement exception, notification may be delayed if a law enforcement agency determines that notification would impede a criminal investigation. Thus, if law enforcement has requested such a delay, the clock does not start ticking on notification until after the agency determines that notification will not compromise the investigation. As to the exception for restoring system security, notification to affected individuals may be delayed to provide the affected organization time to take any security measures that are necessary to determine the scope of the breach and to restore the “reasonable integrity of the system.” Organizations should not take this exception lightly— notification to consumers of a system vulnerability may tip off copycat fraudsters to a system weakness they can exploit. Thus, prior to notifying affected individuals, it is essential for organizations suffering security breaches to restore the integrity of their systems. Entities that rely on either the law enforcement or system security exception should document such reliance. In Hawaii, such documentation is a legal requirement. Notification to Individuals Letters to individuals notifying them of a possible compromise of their personal information should be simple, free of jargon and written in plain English. Entities would be well-advised to avoid legalistic phrases and any attempt to pin blame elsewhere. Organizations that have been most favorably reviewed by individuals following a breach are those that have accepted responsibility and provided useful information to recipients. (A breach notification letter is not the place for marketing!) Organizations should keep in mind that, in addition to impacted individuals, the notification letter will likely be scrutinized by numerous interested parties, including regulators, plaintiffs’ lawyers and the media. As a result, it is essential to strike the appropriate tone while at the same time providing a meaningful amount of substance. There is a growing de facto standard, depending on the information breached, for the types of “offerings” companies are making to affected individuals in their notice letters. These offerings typically include: • Credit Monitoring: In the event a Social Security number or some other form of identification that may contain a Social Security number (such as a driver’s license number or a military identification card number) has been compromised, it has become standard to offer affected individuals one year of credit monitoring services. Depending on the size of the breach, this can be a significant cost for companies. • Free Credit Report: Separate and apart from credit monitoring, organizations should inform affected U.S. individuals that they are entitled to one free credit THE PRIVACY ADVISOR report annually from each of the three national credit reporting agencies. • Fraud Alert: Organizations also may want to recommend that affected individuals place a fraud alert on their credit file for additional protection. There is no charge for this service. Because fraud alerts can have a significant impact on a consumer’s day-to-day purchase habits, most organizations simply suggest to consumers that this is an option rather than insist they take such action. In addition to the standard offerings, the letter should describe the details of the security breach. For obvious reasons, these details should never include the specific affected payment card or Social Security numbers impacted by the breach. Instead of providing this detail, it is most effective to explain what happened and what the organization is doing to help individuals affected by the breach. In many cases, this means providing the individual with information about credit monitoring and other information about how they may protect themselves. Also, it may be necessary to establish a call center (with trained agents) to handle consumer response to the incident. As a general rule, if an organization is required to notify in a few jurisdictions, it is recommended that it notify in all jurisdictions (often this includes foreign countries). With few exceptions, this has become standard in the privacy realm. A few companies that suffered early security breaches after California passed its law were torched by the media and subjected to severe criticism by irate state attorneys general for notifying affected Californians but not affected residents of other states without breach notification laws. The collective experience of these companies highlights an important, but often misunderstood, concept: Technical compliance with law is necessary but not sufficient in the privacy arena. Privacy events are hot button social issues that often transcend mere legal Attention IAPP Members! We Need You! The IAPP is looking for international contributors to our Global Privacy Dispatches column, a new monthly feature that will provide brief updates on privacy and security stories unfolding in countries around the world. The IAPP also is looking for copy on an upcoming issue that will cover the developing trends in privacy enforcement and litigation. We are looking for story ideas and writers who would be willing to contribute copy for this upcoming issue. If you would like to contribute to Global Privacy Dispatches or have enforcement or litigation story ideas, please email [email protected]. Reprinted with permission from Slane Cartoons Limited. See, Information Security Breaches, page 24 International Association of Privacy Professionals 13 May • 2007 Experts Explore Impact of New Federal Pretexting Law During IAPP Audio Conference Ann E. Donlan, CIPP $100,000 or more than 50 he Federal Trade customers, and when the Commission (FTC) information is used to further promises to continue certain other criminal offenses. its aggressive enforcement of Bundy Scanlan noted that deceptive and unlawful efforts GLBA, since it was signed to obtain consumers’ private into law in 1999, “is a huge telephone records, according step in terms of protecting to an agency official. consumer privacy by way of “The FTC has been confinancial statements.” She cerned with the issue of preAgnes Bundy Scanlan, CIPP added that GLBA “served its texting since before the paspurpose,” but Congress determined that sage of GLBA (Gramm Leach Bliley Act),” there was a need to update the law said Angela Ball, an attorney with the around the practice of pretexting. FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Bundy Scanlan’s comments also Protection, Bureau of Consumer detailed the elements organizations Protection. “We will continue our should include on an “investigative enforcement efforts aggressively.” checklist” that should be drafted and Ball was one of three experts the in place before a pretexting incident IAPP tapped for a recent audio conferarises. ence, “Pretexting: New Laws, New Ball added that while GLBA’s Section Challenges, New Expectations.” Joining 521 (a) “had some specific anti-pretexBall were Agnes Bundy Scanlan, CIPP, ting provisions,” the FTC also used its Counsel, Goodwin Procter LLP and unfair or deceptive practices section of Matthew Leonard, CIPP, Senior Fellow, federal law to pursue pretexting cases The Ponemon Institute. on behalf of consumers. The audio conference is available for In its experience, FTC investigators purchase at a price of $159 for members found that “Web operators and loosely and $179 for non-members. More infororganized data brokers” were providing mation is available at www.privacyassodisclosures that purported to be mindful ciation.org. of GLBA. The experts were commenting on “We found that a lot of them misthe impact of the new pretexting law, construe the exceptions under GLBA,” the Telephone Records and Privacy Ball said, adding: “If there is no good Protection Act of 2006, which President assurance that the information is being Bush signed in to law on Jan. 12, 2007. obtained through lawful means, then it is The new law, according to Bundy likely that it is not being obtained Scanlan, mandates a maximum 10-year prison term for anyone convicted of using through lawful means.” Ball noted that a pretexting bill fraudulent tactics to obtain telephone currently pending in Congress, the records. Bundy Scanlan said the pretexPrevention of Fraudulent Access to ting scandal related to HP’s efforts to pinPhone Records Act, would allow the point the source of boardroom leaks FTC to impose civil fines on those who “proved that the law needed to be more use deceptive methods to obtain conspecific in terms of obtaining non-public sumers' telephone records. personal information” about individuals She detailed the agency’s most and the penalties that pretexters should recent pretexting enforcement efforts, face for their actions. She added that including five cases in federal district there are enhanced penalties for aggracourts the agency filed in May 2006 vated cases that involve more than T 14 www.privacyassociation.org against sellers of telephone records. Of those, two cases have settled and three are pending. In February, the FTC filed a case in federal court in Florida against a group of defendants who allegedly engaged in telephone records pretexting. “We are moving forward with our enforcement efforts and we are looking to see those folks brought to justice,” she said. Leonard, of The Ponemon Institute, wrapped up the discussion, with a focus on the important role Chief Privacy Officers play in promoting a business culture that values honesty. Leonard also emphasized the need for CPOs to identify departments or groups within the organization that are collecting data — outside of the typical marketing or human resources areas — places within the enterprise “where we get blindsided” by privacy blunders. Leonard stressed that in many businesses, “there is sort of a culture of deception to win in business.” For example, “creative impersonation” to get in to see a client “becomes part of the mythology in the sales force.” He urged CPOs to “help people make ethical decisions” to thwart the “culture of deception. … At the end of the day, we’re asking our employees to be honest.” Corporate policies and procedures are critical, said Leonard, who added that “privacy guidance needs to be appropriate to the group.” By identifying potential areas where problems could arise, privacy pros “can help the business do better, not just avoid trouble. It should be our job to think those things through. It’s an opportunity for us to do something right in our organization.” This audio conference is now available for purchase. Order now at www.privacyassociation.org/index.php?option=com _content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=70. May • 2007 THE PRIVACY ADVISOR The IAPP is pleased to announce the much-anticipated release of INFORMATION PRIVACY Official Reference for the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) Peter P. Swire, CIPP, and Sol Bermann, CIPP • The definitive text on the privacy profession • A valuable desk reference for working privacy and security professionals • The essential study tool for the CIPP exam Order your copy at www.privacyassociation.org International Association of Privacy Professionals 15 May • 2007 IAPP In the News The IAPP Announces New Appointments to 2007 Board of Directors he IAPP has appointed four new directors to its Board and promoted directors to serve new leadership roles. The IAPP Board of Directors now includes privacy leaders from Google Inc., Information Integrity Solutions Pty. Ltd., Kelley Drye & Warren and the U.S. Department of Justice. They join existing directors from General Electric Company, Hewitt Associates, Highmark Inc., IBM Corp., Intel, Intuit, Marriott International, Microsoft Corp., Nationwide Insurance Companies, Pfizer Inc., Procter & Gamble, Schering-Plough Corp., the University of Pennsylvania, Walt Disney Company, Wal-Mart, Wiley Rein LLP and Zeno Group. IAPP Board President Kirk M. Herath, CIPP/G, Associate Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, Associate General Counsel, Nationwide Insurance Companies, said the new Board members deepen the IAPP’s focus on international and government privacy issues. “We are proud to announce the new members of the IAPP Board,” Herath said. “These accomplished privacy pros will strengthen the experience and depth of our existing board. The IAPP Board will continue to serve our members and the profession with an energetic commitment to foster our education, networking and certification goals.” The IAPP announced the appointment of these four new members to the Board of Directors: Malcolm Crompton, Managing Director, Information Integrity Solutions P/L; Peter Fleischer, Global Privacy Counsel, Google; D. Reed Freeman, Jr., CIPP, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren; and Jane Horvath, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, U.S. Department of Justice. T 16 www.privacyassociation.org Malcolm Crompton Peter Fleischer Crompton, Australia’s former Privacy Commissioner, currently advises private and public sector organizations on strategies to build trust through their collection and use of personal information. During his five-year tenure as Australia’s Privacy Commissioner, Crompton implemented the country’s private sector privacy law. “I am looking forward to working with the Board to introduce the benefits of the IAPP to a wider range of privacy professionals around the Asia Pacific region, where so much change is happening and the movement of personal information is expanding rapidly,” Crompton said. Fleischer is Google’s Global Privacy Counsel, based in Paris. He works to ensure that Google protects its users’ privacy, meets all privacy legal obligations and helps to raise the bar for online privacy protections. With more than a decade of experience in online privacy issues, he is committed to engaging with privacy stakeholders in Europe and beyond to address the new privacy challenges of the evolving Web. Prior to joining Google, Fleischer served as Microsoft Corp.’s former privacy lead for Europe and Director of Regulatory Affairs. “I am delighted to be joining the Board of the IAPP, and to support its mission of defining, promoting and improving the privacy profession globally. Privacy is becoming an increasing- D. Reed Freeman, CIPP Jane Horvath ly global profession, as data flows themselves become more and more global. The IAPP provides invaluable support to its members to confront these cross border challenges.” Freeman is a Partner in Kelley Drye & Warren’s Advertising and Marketing Practice Group. He focuses on all aspects of consumer protection law, including privacy, data security and breach notification, online and offline advertising and direct marketing. Since 2005, Freeman has been a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. “I am honored to serve on the IAPP Board of Directors with such distinguished colleagues, and I look forward to helping continue the great work the Board has done already to further the IAPP’s mission,” Freeman said. “It’s a privilege to participate in such an important and growing organization committed to promoting the privacy profession through education, networking and certification.” Horvath is the first person to serve as the Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer at the Department of Justice (DOJ). She is responsible for reviewing and overseeing DOJ’s privacy operations and ensuring privacy compliance; developing DOJ’s privacy policy; representing DOJ with respect to international privacy policy issues; and ensuring that privacy and civil liberties May • 2007 THE PRIVACY ADVISOR impacts are considered prior to the launch of a new program. “I am very excited and honored to join the Board of the IAPP,” Horvath said. “I look forward to working with the Board to reach out to public sector privacy professionals. The IAPP serves a vital role in connecting privacy professionals together to foster best practices globally.” Also effective immediately are the appointments of: • Chris Zoladz, CIPP, Vice President, Information Protection, Marriott International, to serve as Treasurer/Past President, in place Chris Zoladz, CIPP of departing Board member Becky Burr, CIPP, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, who served as Treasurer. • David Hoffman, CIPP, Group Counsel and Director of Privacy & Security, Intel Corp., to serve in an entirely new position as Assistant Treasurer. David Hoffman, CIPP • Jonathan D. Avila, CIPP, Vice President – Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer, The Walt Disney Co., to serve as Secretary. Avila succeeds Dale Jonathan D. Avila, CIPP Skivington, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Assistant General Counsel, Eastman Kodak Co. IBM’s Harriet Pearson Explains ‘Why Privacy Is Good for Business’ BM Chief Privacy Officer Harriet Pearson was recently featured in CEOForum Magazine where she was interviewed about her “pioneering position.” She is an example, she says, “of what has become basically a new profession.” According to the article, “This high-level concern for privacy is a direct result of the Internet's explosive growth. Once used only for ‘surfing’, the Web has become a destination for shopping, banking — even looking after our health and relationships. As the details of our lives accumulate in other people's databases, privacy has become a source of consumer anxiety — and corporate concern.” “Privacy is good for business,” Pearson says. Companies have a responsibility to protect customers’ personal data just as they would protect any other valued corporate asset. Pearson highlights some of the fundamental tenets of the privacy profession, from building a “trust- I ed balance” with customers through transparency in handling data to reinforcing the idea that privacy needs to be addressed as a strategic issue — Harriet Pearson, CIPP what she calls “privacy by design”. The article concludes with recommendations for building a “privacy dream team.” First, start from the top — get support from the CEO and other top execs; second, appoint a CPO — make sure one person is responsible for privacy policy in the organization; and last, build a board — get advice from the departments most affected, at a minimum, marketing, legal, communications, and training and IT. For the complete interview, visit www-07.ibm.com/innovation/au/customerloyalty/harriet_pearson_interview.html. Google Blog Highlights Appointment to IAPP Board oogle’s official blog announced the appointment of Peter Fleischer, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel, to the IAPP Board of Directors. “We're pleased for this recognition, as Peter's work in privacy over the last decade mirrors a real evolution in the profession,” reads the statement posted by Deputy General Counsel Nicole Wong. “Today, privacy is universally viewed as a key corporate goal, and privacy officers are responsible for creating a culture of respect for privacy inside their companies.” The blog included links to the IAPP’s Web site and news release. G International Association of Privacy Professionals 17 May • 2007 Web Watch Web Site Security: Locking the Back Door to Your Back-end Systems Michael Weider, CTO of Watchfire, explains the top 10 Web application attacks financial services organizations need to be aware of. or years, banks have been encouraging their customers to make transactions online to increase profits and offer their customers a more convenient alternative to visiting their local branch. Since the online migration began, customer adoption of this channel has increased steadily. However, this also has meant that the pool of potential online scams and breaches also are escalating at an alarming rate. As more and more consumers are inevitably victimized, there is a serious risk that confidence in F the integrity of online transactions could plummet, resulting in a devastating effect on e-commerce. The corporate Web site is one of the most important interactions between a customer and their bank. Hackers also understand this opportunity. Industry analysts have estimated that 75 percent of attacks are now targeting applications. In 2006, Mitre identified the two most common security issues as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection vulnerabilities. As more financial services organizations encourage their customers to use the Web as a first point of contact, it is essential that Web sites are secure, trustworthy and uphold the financial services industry’s stringent standards and regulations. Newer breach notification requirements also have Michael Weider made it mandatory to notify consumers of privacy and security breaches. Financial services organizations are facing even more pressure to proactively assess and correct security and privacy issues, with customers, regulators, partners and investors becoming increasingly vocal about violations and breaches. Top 10 Web Application Attacks Financial Services Organizations Should Be Aware of 18 Application Threat Negative Impact Example of Business Impact Cross-Site scripting (X SS) Identity theft, sensitive information leakage Hackers can impersonate legitimate users, and control their accounts Injection Flaws Attacker can manipulate queries to the database Hackers can access back-end database information, alter it or steal it Malicious File Execution Execute shell commands on server, up to full control Site modified to transfer all interactions to the hacker Insecure Direct Object Reference Attacker can access sensitive files and resources Web application returns contents of sensitive file (instead of harmless one) Cross-Site Request Forgery Attacker can invoke “blind” actions on Web applications, impersonating as a trusted user Blind requests to bank account transfer money to hacker Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling Attackers can gain detailed system information Malicious system reconnaissance may assist in developing further attacks Broken Authentication and Session Management Session tokens not guarded or invalidated properly Hacker can “force” session token on victim; session tokens can be stolen after logout Insecure Cryptographic Storage Weak encryption techniques may lead to broken encryption Confidential information (i.e., SSN, credit cards) can be decrypted by malicious users Insecure Communications Sensitive info sent unencrypted over insecure channel Unencrypted credentials “sniffed” and used by hacker to impersonate user Failure to Restrict URL Access Hacker can access unauthorized resources Hacker can forcefully browse and access a page past the login page www.privacyassociation.org THE PRIVACY ADVISOR Calendar of Events As Web applications become increasingly complex, tremendous amounts of sensitive data — including personal and financial information — are exchanged and stored. The consumer not only expects, but demands, proper security to protect this information. A hacker will typically spend time getting to know the Web application by identifying the shortcuts he would have created had he built the application. Then using nothing more than the Web browser, the hacker will attempt to interact with the application and its surrounding infrastructure in malicious ways. The results can be disastrous. An organization called OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) created a “Top Ten” list to help organizations focus on the most serious Web application security vulnerabilities. Adopting a process and implementing technology to monitor for, identify and remediate these threats is an effective first step toward helping ensure the security of Web applications. Why do these vulnerabilities exist? New methods for attacking Web applications are growing daily in volume and frequency. Security teams are under intense pressure and many cannot keep up with the volume of applications they need to test. They are often either catching issues late in the development cycle or not at all. The continuous cycle of developing, updating and auditing customer-facing applications, combined with trying to keep up with the latest patches, is a constant battle against hackers. With the explosion of Web-enabled applications, a new reality has emerged. Financial services organizations should not neglect the important step of securing the site and the applications and the data they collect. It only takes a single breach to ruin a reputation. Michael Weider is the Founder and CTO of Watchfire (www.watchfire.com), a leading provider of software and service to help ensure the security and compliance of Web sites. MAY 8 9 IAPP KnowledgeNet — Chicago CIPP, CIPP/C and CIPP/G examinations 9 a.m. - noon Central Time The John Marshall Law School 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago, Ill. Register at www.privacyassociation.org IAPP KnowledgeNet — Atlanta 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Networking Luncheon and Open Discussion. Exchange ideas and thinking on current challenges and opportunities in the privacy industry 10 IAPP KnowledgeNet — Portland, Ore. Speaker: Jody Pettit, Health Information Technology Coordinator for the State of Oregon. Electronic Health Information Exchange 10 IAPP KnowledgeNet — Columbus, Ohio Speaker: Sol Bermann, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Information Technology - State of Ohio A discussion about his new role with the State of Ohio 10 Higher Education Workshop on Online Privacy Management 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The Commons, 3rd Floor, Adamian Academic Center, Bentley College, Waltham, Mass. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and a panel of privacy experts will hold a morning workshop on the unique challenges of managing online privacy in higher education. Register at www.bentley.edu events/iscw2007/index.cfm. 11 IAPP KnowledgeNet — Toronto, Canada 9 – 10:30 a.m. Speaker: Hon. Tom Wappel, Chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Current PIPEDA Review 17 IAPP KnowledgeNet — Philadelphia 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Open Discussion, Privacy Roundtable: Running a Privacy Department 24-25 European Data Protection Intensive — Amsterdam This unique and ground breaking event brings together data protection experts from all 27 EU States plus Switzerland and Norway, providing information and advice on the data protection rules and regulations throughout Europe. Visit www.e-comlaw.com/ EuropeanIntensive JUNE 4-7 IAPP Delegate Tour: Europe KnowledgeNet meetings, networking and workshops with data protection officials in Berlin, Paris and London 29 IAPP Certification Testing — New York CIPP, CIPP/C and CIPP/G examinations 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Ernst & Young Offices, 5 Times Square Plaza, New York, N.Y. Register at www.privacyassociation.org SEPTEMBER 25-28 29th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel Montreal, Canada www.privacyconference2007.gc.ca To list your privacy event in the The Privacy Advisor, email Ann E. Donlan at [email protected]. International Association of Privacy Professionals 19 May • 2007 Privacy News New Identity Theft Scam Targets Executives ebix, the Identity Protection Network, is warning corporate executives to be aware of identity theft specifically targeted to them. Debix, joined by LooksTooGoodTo BeTrue.com, a Web site funded by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Merchant Risk Council, are advising executives and businesses to take precautions to prevent fraudsters from accessing their lines of credit by stealing the identity of their business executives. Working with industry and law enforcement, the groups have found a scam in which an ID thief defrauds businesses by stealing the identity of a business executive at a publicly traded company, where personal information such as date of birth, address and phone number are easily accessible in public records. The fraudster then applies for a new credit account at an online retail store in the name of the company and uses the executive's information as a personal guarantee. The fraudster then orders costly equipment, such as computers, which would quickly deplete the credit line. By the time the retailer sends the delinquent account to collections, the criminal has moved on to the next victim. “Because these are business lines of credit, often in excess of $20,000, the fraud losses are quick and substantial,” said Julie Fergerson, VP of Emerging Technologies at Debix and Co-Founder and Board Member of the Merchant Risk Council. “The good news is executives and business can both take simple steps to protect themselves.” Debix and the Merchant Risk Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping merchants prevent fraud, recommend that executives place a fraud alert on their credit files. After a request is made for credit, the creditor would be required to contact the telephone number placed in the executive’s credit file before issuing new lines of credit. D The IAPP Welcomes Our Newest Corporate Members Class Action Lawsuits Cropping Up Over Credit Card Receipts ompanies that collect or process credit cards should be aware of a new set of lawsuits related to the printing of credit card numbers on receipts, advises Kirk J. Nahra, CIPP, of Wiley Rein LLP and Editor of The Privacy Advisor. In a recent communication, Nahra informed clients that a new series of class action lawsuits — brought primarily in California, but expanding around the country — stem from section 1681c(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a new requirement from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACTA) law that prohibits the printing of full credit card numbers on receipts. Plaintiffs’ class action lawyers are C 20 www.privacyassociation.org taking the position that FACTA permits statutory damages of up to $1,000 per willful violation of the law, as a means of attempting to avoid more common problems related to a lack of damages in certain privacy and security cases. The Bureau of National Affairs reports that more than 100 of these suits have been filed in California. A limited number of cases have been filed in other states. While these suits are new, there has been one early decision testing part of this theory. In a case involving Ikea (Eskandari v. Ikea U.S. Inc, C.D. Call. No. 8:06-cv-01248-JVS-RNB (March 12, 2007), the court issued the first decision in this area, ruling on Ikea’s assertion that the Fair Credit Reporting Act did not create a private cause of action for violation of this FACTA provision. The court, in a brief decision, held that the “plain language” of the statute “provides a private right of action for consumers.” Accordingly, while this is only the first step in what is likely to be a much more significant battle, the court has allowed this case to go forward. Companies should review promptly their policies related to credit card receipts, Nahra said. They also should begin to review more aggressively the overall requirements of the FACTA law, including such broadly applicable provisions as the “disposal rule” related to the disposal of consumer report information. May • 2007 THE PRIVACY ADVISOR Privacy Classifieds Richard Thomas Reappointed as UK Information Commissioner ichard Thomas has been reappointed to a second term as Information Commissioner for the UK. Thomas’ current five-year term expires in November 2007, after which he will serve another two years until June 2009. “I am obviously very pleased to be asked to continue for the next two years,” Thomas told the IAPP. “It is a real privilege to lead the ICO and a very satisfying and rewarding role to ensure that both Freedom of Information and Data Protection are being taken seriously and bring real benefit to the public. I have also very much enjoyed my contact with the international privacy and data protection community and look forward to this further period of cooperation.” Thomas was a keynote speaker at R the IAPP Privacy Summit 07 in Washington, D.C. His previous career has included serving as Director of Public Policy at Clifford Chance (the international law Richard Thomas firm), Director of Consumer Affairs at the Office of Fair Trading, Head of Public Affairs and Legal Officer at the National Consumer Council and Solicitor with the Citizens Advice Bureau Service. He also has held various public appointments, including membership of the Lord Chancellor’s Civil Justice Review Advisory Committee and the Board of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Receive Accolades RUSTe and the Ponemon Institute have announced the results of the 2007 Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study, an annual evaluation of how consumers perceive organizations that collect and manage their personal information. The study ranks companies and federal agencies by industry and compile a list of the overall top performing companies. For the second year in a row, American Express was rated the top company for privacy trust, followed by Charles Schwab and IBM. Last year’s top three were American Express, Amazon and Procter & Gamble. Previous years’ winners have included E-Loan, Hewlett-Packard and eBay. The survey is a Web-based study that gathers information from participants over a six-week period, which ended in February 2007. Responses T related to more than 200 companies were analyzed and ranked. “The Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study is one of the most interesting and important studies of the year as it gives us a picture of how the public’s perceptions change from year-to-year and how different companies respond to evolving privacy challenges,” said Larry Ponemon, CIPP, Chairman and Founder, Ponemon Institute. “While we read the bad news in the headlines, it is clear that there are many companies that have put on the mantle of privacy leadership, and that are setting a stellar example for others to follow with their superlative privacy and data security programs.” The executive summary and survey results can be found at www.truste.org/ pdf/2007_Most_Trusted_Companies.pdf. The Privacy Advisor is an excellent resource for privacy professionals researching career opportunities. For more information on a specific position, or to view all the listings, visit the IAPP’s Web site, www.privacyassociation.org. SENIOR PRIVACY & COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST Iron Mountain Boston, Mass. PRIVACY OFFICER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, CORPORATE COMPLIANCE State Street Corporation Boston, Mass. INVESTIGATOR 2, CORP INVESTIGATIONS T-Mobile Bellevue, Wash. PRODUCT COUNSEL, PAYMENTS Google Inc. Mountain View, Calif. PRODUCT COUNSEL Google Inc. Mountain View, Calif. PRIVACY COUNSEL Google Inc. Mountain View, Calif. CORPORATE COUNSEL – PRIVACY T-Mobile Bellevue, Wash. CORPORATE PRIVACY MANAGER MedStar Health DC/Baltimore Area PROJECT MANAGER Allstate Insurance Northbrook, Ill. SENIOR CONSULTANT – PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION SPECIALIST Deloitte San Francisco/San Jose, Calif. International Association of Privacy Professionals 21 May • 2007 Congratulations, Certified Professionals! The IAPP is pleased to announce the latest graduates of our privacy certification programs. The following individuals successfully completed the CIPP, CIPP/G and CIPP/C examinations held at the 2007 IAPP Privacy Summit in Washington D.C. Aref Alvandy, CIPP Tarun Ambwani, CIPP Rebecca Andino, CIPP Melissa Bateman, CIPP Kenneth Battista, CIPP Ken Baylor, CIPP Rachel Bedor, CIPP Linda Betz, CIPP George Bills, CIPP Carol Black, CIPP Frederick Blumer, CIPP Bradly Bolin, CIPP Darren Bowie, CIPP Christina Brooks, CIPP Mark Brooks, CIPP Kimberly Bubnes, CIPP Jonathan Cantor, CIPP/G Gail Carmisciano, CIPP Debra Castanon, CIPP George Chacko, CIPP Mary Cheney, CIPP Fredric Cibelli, CIPP Amanda Coffield, CIPP Nathan Coleman, CIPP/G Robert Cox, CIPP Hayden Creque, CIPP Heidi Cross, CIPP/G Chris Cunningham, CIPP Raymond Cunningham, CIPP Norman Damours, CIPP Miles Daniel, CIPP Kim Dawson, CIPP Carol Deadrick, CIPP Joshua Deinsen, CIPP Arthur Dietze, CIPP John Dorsey, CIPP Francis Duncan, CIPP Keary Dunn, CIPP Colin Erasmus, CIPP/G Patrick Feehan, CIPP Gilbert Feltel, CIPP Tanya Forsheit, CIPP Christopher Foster, CIPP Stephen Freedman, CIPP/C Elizabeth Gaffin, CIPP/G Amit Gandre, CIPP Carleigh Gavin, CIPP Ellen Giblin, CIPP/G Robert Gibson, CIPP Mark Gilligan, CIPP Robin Ginn, CIPP Lynn Goldstein, CIPP Mark Grant, CIPP Andrew Graziani, CIPP Richard Greenfield, CIPP/G Ryan Grogan, CIPP Richard Gubbels, CIPP Catherine Hackney, CIPP David Hale, CIPP Johanna Haskell, CIPP Holly Hawkins, CIPP Sandra Hawkins, CIPP/G Vanessa Hayward, CIPP William Helmstetter, CIPP Kimberly Hess, CIPP Seth Hidek, CIPP William Holzerland, CIPP/G Robert Hudson, CIPP Michael Hughes, CIPP Scott Hyde, CIPP Brian Hynes, CIPP Nathan Johnson, CIPP Jennifer Johnson, CIPP Melonie Jones, CIPP Deborah Joslyn, CIPP Ann Kennedy, CIPP Jason Khoury, CIPP Carla Kittle, CIPP Kathryn Kohler, CIPP John Kotlarczyk, CIPP Stacey Kovoros, CIPP/G Danielle Kriz, CIPP John Kropf, CIPP/G Katherine Kuriyama, CIPP/G Hillary Kushner, CIPP Merri Lavagnino, CIPP Christopher Leigh, CIPP Courtney Leo Powell, CIPP Karima Leonhardt, CIPP Greg Levine, CIPP Donna Lewis, CIPP Jay Libove, CIPP Elaine Lin, CIPP Joseph Lindstrom, CIPP/G Anders Ling, CIPP Vania Lockett, CIPP/G Jeffrey Lolley, CIPP Robin London, CIPP Jan Lovorn, CIPP Elizabeth Lynn, CIPP Carter Manny, CIPP Jennifer Mardosz, CIPP Jennifer Martin, CIPP Bruce Martino, CIPP/G Amanda Mayhew, CIPP Jack McCoy, CIPP Christopher McCrae, CIPP Christin McMeley, CIPP Tom McNeil, CIPP Clewin Mcpherson, CIPP Raj Mehta, CIPP Marines Mercado, CIPP Suzanne Milliard, CIPP/G Melvin Murray, CIPP/G Dean Noble, CIPP David Nowak, CIPP Gail Obrycki, CIPP Mark Oram, CIPP Edward Palmieri, CIPP Catherine Papoi, CIPP/G Anwesa Paul, CIPP Diana Pentecost, CIPP Tiffany Phelps, CIPP Christopher Pierson, CIPP/G Peter Pietra, CIPP/G Kirill Popov, CIPP Earl Porter, CIPP Stephan Potgieter, CIPP Saikiran Raghupathy, CIPP Bradley Reimer, CIPP Robert Reinhold, CIPP Scott Rempell, CIPP Chris Richardson, CIPP Andrew Riley, CIPP/G Clyde Roberts, CIPP Jason Robertson, CIPP Lilia Rose, CIPP/G Cathleen Ryan Reneer, CIPP/G Luis Salazar, CIPP Matthew Sarris, CIPP/C Mike Sawyer, CIPP Nancy Schicker, CIPP Daniel Sellman, CIPP Jose Sesin, CIPP/G J. Sheehan, CIPP Kamilah Shepherd, CIPP/G James Shreve, CIPP Kathryn Shroeder, CIPP Karen Skarupski, CIPP Maureen Slipek, CIPP Douglas Smith, CIPP David Stark, CIPP Jeremy Steiner, CIPP Dorene Stupski, CIPP/C Brian Sulmonetti, CIPP Mindy Teegarden, CIPP Jeroen Terstegge, CIPP S. Trigg, CIPP Frank Triveri, CIPP Tamara Tuchmajer, CIPP Loretta Tulloch, CIPP Tony Vallone, CIPP Robert Vetter, CIPP Gary Wallace, CIPP Michelle Ward, CIPP Linda Weeks, CIPP Kathryn Whelan, CIPP Daniel Whitehead, CIPP Richard Wichmann, CIPP Josiah Wilkinson, CIPP Chi Yu, CIPP/G Periodically, the IAPP publishes the names of graduates from our various privacy credentialing programs. While we make every effort to ensure the currency and accuracy of such lists, we cannot guarantee that your name will appear in an issue the very same month (or month after) you officially became certified. If you are a recent CIPP, CIPP/G or CIPP/C graduate but do not see your name listed above then you can expect to be listed in a future issue of the Advisor. Thank you for participating in IAPP privacy certification! 22 www.privacyassociation.org THE PRIVACY ADVISOR Career Corner How Do You Express “Value” as a Privacy Professional? Adam Stone, CIPP or organizations large and small, effective privacy and data security management are crucial elements to a healthy business. Adam Stone, CIPP As all privacy practitioners know, a breakdown in privacy and security controls can damage seriously an organization’s reputation with clients, employees and partners. The time and money spent by organizations faced with remediating a privacy breach has amounted to millions of dollars in legal, operational and PR expenses. Without a doubt, effective privacy management adds value to organizations and so do the privacy professionals employed to guide the organization along the path of sound privacy practices. Many privacy practitioners say their individual value to an organization is best expressed in moneysaving terms. Often, privacy pros see themselves as an “insurance policy” against negative business events. Other privacy leaders indicate that their value also can be traced to revenue generation for firms. Indeed, every individual in a firm is employed for a specific purpose: either as a money-saver or a money-maker (a few lucky folks get to be both — like the CEO!). Recognizing your purpose in the organization is the first step toward understanding the value that you add. Despite the recognition of individual value, many privacy practitioners find it difficult to highlight quantitative, F as well as qualitative, achievements to their career history. This becomes most apparent on a privacy practitioner’s résumé/CV. Professional achievements are defined by metrics. Without a metric, a so-called “achievement” is simply a task or a duty. True professional achievements can be directly linked to money-savings events and/or moneymaking events. On a résumé, numbers tell the best story! Consider the following example: Jane led the development and implementation of an enterprise-wide privacy awareness program. One element of the program asks each employee to take a 20-question test after viewing a privacy awareness presentation. These results are stored in a database and analyzed as “baseline” scores. As the awareness program continued over the course of a year, Jane again asked each employee to retake the same test to see if scores improved. They did! Scores improved an average of 80 percent overall. When reviewing Jane’s entry, one can easily note the quantitative metrics. A hiring manager could easily understand Jane’s achievements. On a résumé/CV, Jane’s achievement might read, “Led an enterprise-wide privacy awareness program that increased overall employee awareness by 80 percent over one year.” One can infer, by this quantitative metric, that Jane’s achievement led to a reduction in exposure (or money-savings) for the firm. As professional recruiters, experience tells us that the most lucrative offers do not go to the candidates with the best qualifications for a position. Instead, offers are made to the individuals who are prepared to demonstrate how their background, skills, experience and (most important) achievements can bring real value to a potential employer. To insure that you are prepared to distinguish yourself, set aside some time to complete a Facts - Achievements Value (FAV) Worksheet. The information you develop will enable you to create a résumé that excites and motivates employers to grant you an interview. The FAV Worksheet is also a valuable tool for preparing for the interview. Having this document available will help ensure that your responses are clear, crisp and express the potential value that you can bring to the table. To learn more about the FAV Worksheet, visit the Global Recruiters of Woodbury Web site at: www.grnwoodbury.com/fav/index.asp. Adam Stone, CIPP, is Managing Director of Global Recruiters of Woodbury, a permanent placement recruitment firm focused on executives and professionals in privacy, data security, IT law and public policy, e-discovery and related disciplines. He can be reached at [email protected]. International Association of Privacy Professionals 23 N.H. Pharma Law continued from page 3 one New Hampshire think tank commentator told Medical Marketing & Media: “What the people voting for this didn’t think about is that the database created by the tracking of prescriptions is not just extraordinarily valuable, it’s also very expensive to create, and its creation is only possible because of its commercial use.” These arguments gained little traction, and, as noted, the law passed and became effective on June 30, 2006. Within days, IMS Health and Verispan sued in U.S. District Court to have all, or part of the law, declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it constitutes a violation of the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Because the First Amendment is implicated, the state must show that the law passes the “Strict Scrutiny Test” — that is, it must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling government interest, and if a less restrictive alternative would serve the government’s purpose, the legislature must use that alternative. With respect to the Commerce Clause argument, the challengers must prove the Information Security Breaches continued from page 13 compliance. Indeed, the risk to an organization’s reputation and revenues often far exceeds the risk associated with noncompliance with breach laws. As a result, organizations responding to a breach should focus on doing the right thing as opposed to doing only those things that are required by law. Lessons Learned Security breach notification laws have brought information security issues into the spotlight. While no information security is perfect, proactive incident response planning can help minimize the impact when and if a breach occurs. Such planning includes inventorying the entity’s databases that contain sensitive personal information, understanding how sensitive personal information flows through the organization, conducting ongoing risk assessments for internal 24 www.privacyassociation.org law has a practical effect of controlling commerce that takes place wholly outside of New Hampshire’s borders, constituting a per se violation of the Commerce Clause. Although the Federal District Court in New Hampshire declined to enter an immediate injunction of the law, it “fasttracked” the proceedings. Conclusion A number of states have considered similar “prescription confidentiality” legislation, including New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California, which together represent roughly half of a national prescribing volume. The outcome could be a case of whither goes New Hampshire, so goes the nation. This is especially true in the privacy area, where states appear to take a “me too” approach to privacy legislation, as witnessed in the passage of data breach and security freeze laws throughout the country. The court’s decision is expected in the next 30 days. Luis Salazar is a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig and a founding member of the firm’s Data Privacy and and external risk to the data and responding to reasonably foreseeable risks, maintaining a comprehensive written information security program, and developing a breach response procedure. Given that a recent survey of 31 breaches ranging in size from 2,500 records to 263,000 records conducted by the Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of responding to a security breach was $182 per lost customer record with an average total cost of $4.8 million, the stakes are higher than ever for companies to focus on their information security programs. Most importantly, concern and respect for information security should be integrated into the organization’s core values. A breach response plan alone, without demonstrable organizational concern for information security generally, exposes the organization to significant risk. With the stakes as high as they are, all organizations should be taking a closer look at their information security practices. Security Law Taskforce. Salazar is also the drafter of the Privacy Policy Enforcement in Bankruptcy Act, an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code that prohibits bankrupt companies from misusing consumers’ personally identifying information and provides for the appointment of a Consumer Privacy Ombudsman to advise Bankruptcy Courts on privacy issues. Salazar is based in the firm’s Miami office and can be reached at [email protected]. Editor’s Note: At press time, The Privacy Advisor learned that U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro ruled in favor of Verispan LLC and IMS Health Inc. In his 54-page ruling, Barbadoro stated that ordinarily “states should be given wide latitude to choose among rational alternatives when they act to benefit the public interest.” But he added, “However, when states adopt speech restrictions as their method, courts must subject their efforts to closer scrutiny.” Watch for more coverage of this decision in upcoming issues of the Advisor. Lisa Sotto heads the Privacy and Information Management Practice at Hunton & Williams LLP and is a partner in the New York office. She is also vice chairperson of the DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. Sotto will be a speaker at the IAPP’s Practical Privacy Series: Data Breach on June 27 in New York City. She may be contacted at [email protected]. Aaron P. Simpson is an associate in the Privacy and Information Management Practice at Hunton & Williams, New York. He may be contacted at [email protected]. This article originally appeared in Privacy & Security Law Report, Vol. 6, No. 14 (April 2, 2007) pp. 559-562. Copyright 2007 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) www.bna.com.
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