Potential Consequences of Not Protecting PII

For DHS:

Loss of public trust
Increased Congressional oversight
Loss of funding

For the victim:

Identity theft
Loss of benefits
Embarrassment

For the person causing the privacy incident:

Counseling and training
Loss of employment
Civil & criminal penalties

Privacy Man holding a newspaper with a concerned look on his face

Transcript:

If we fail to protect PII, there can be severe consequences for everyone.

Most privacy incidents occur when employees mishandle PII due to a lack of awareness of PII safeguards, and when that occurs, they receive counseling and additional training.

But we have also experienced intentional privacy incidents at DHS. For example, a FEMA employee was sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing the identities of more than 200 disaster survivors who had applied for government assistance.

Last Published Date: January 4, 2021

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