Privacy Office

The Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office is the first statutorily-required privacy office in any federal agency, responsible for evaluating Department programs, systems, and initiatives for potential privacy impacts, and providing mitigation strategies to reduce the privacy impact.

The Privacy Office

• Evaluates Department legislative and regulatory proposals involving the collection, use, and disclosure of PII
• Centralizes FOIA and Privacy Act operations to provide policy and programmatic oversight, and support implementation across the Department
• Operates a Department-wide Privacy Incident Response Program to ensure that incidents involving PII are properly reported, investigated and mitigated, as appropriate
• Responds to complaints of privacy violations and provides redress, as appropriate
• Provides training, education and outreach to build a culture of privacy across the Department and transparency to the public

Leadership and Organization