Every day, the information that USDA agencies manage affects the financial markets and lives of individuals. Therefore, USDA must exercise due diligence in its protection. As dissemination of information becomes easier, the Department must walk a fine line between information exchange and information protection.
This is especially important in an age of instant access and global exchange. As networks expand and connect, security concerns will expand exponentially. USDA is committed to stay abreast of security concerns, and proactively address them.
 Coming 2009 – USDA Cyber Security Awareness Month 3rd Annual Expo
Watch for Upcoming Details
Personally Identifiable Information
USDA holds a vast amount of data on its employees and customers. Some of this data is readily available to the public and in fact is mandated to be made available through various legislative and legal vehicles. However, some data is sensitive and should never be made public, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
PII refers to information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity. PII can include information or combinations of information such as social security numbers (in complete or truncated form), place of birth, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric record, fingerprint, iris scan, DNA, medical history, medical conditions, financial information, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc. USDA is committed to protecting PII for both employees and customers. USDA has a toll-free PII Incident Hotline at 1-877-PII-2YOU. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is also an Incident Hotline at 1-888-296-2373.
Federal Information Security Management Act
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002 requires the Chief Information Officer of each Federal department to assess and report on the status of his or her information security program. To accomplish this, USDA must comply with the reporting instructions provided by OMB each fiscal year. The following fiscal year (FY) 2008 documents are currently available.
http://www.ocio.usda.gov/security/index.html
Last Modified:
01/09/2009
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