PRIVACY AND INFORMATION SECURITY ESSENTIALS Information Security Policy Essentials Melissa Short, IT Specialist Office of Cyber Security- Policy

PUBLIC LAW  Department of Veterans Affairs Information Security Enhancement Act of 2006  December 22, 2006  Introduced the term VA sensitive information

VA SENSITIVE INFORMATION All Department Information and/or data on any storage media or in any form or format, which requires protection due to the risk of harm that could result from inadvertent or deliberate disclosure, alteration, or destruction of the information. The term includes information whose improper use or disclosure could adversely affect the ability of an agency to accomplish its mission, proprietary information, and records about individuals requiring protection under applicable confidentiality provisions. -From PL Included in VA Directive and Handbook 6500, Information Security Program

SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION The term, with respect to an individual, means any information about the individual maintained by an agency, including the following: (i) education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history; (ii) information that can be used to distinguish or trace the individual’s identity, including name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, or biometric records. -From PL Included in VA Directive and Handbook 6500, Information Security Program

CATEGORIZATION OF SENSITIVE DATA  VA Sensitive Information includes: –Sensitive Personal Information –Regulatory/Program Specific Information  Sensitive Personal Information includes: –Individually Identifiable Information –Individually Identifiable Health Information –Protected Health Information –Privacy-Protected Information

OTHER CATEGORIES OF VA INFORMATION Categories of non-sensitive VA information:  Administratively Confidential Information – Information that is used in the daily operation of the VA. This is information that is intended for use by employees when conducting VA business.  Public Information - Information is categorized as Public if the information has been made available or could be made public pursuant to a FOIA request for public distribution through authorized VA channels. Public information is not sensitive in context or content, and requires no special security. -From VA Handbook 6500

INFORMATION OWNER Information owner means an agency official with statutory or operational authority for specified information and responsibility for establishing the controls for its generation, collection, processing, dissemination, and disposal. -From PL Included in VA Directive and Handbook 6500, Information Security Program

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR VA SENSITIVE INFORMATION VA Handbook 6500 and its Appendix D include:  Specific requirements for VA sensitive information  Issues such as: Encryption, Physical Security, Media Sanitization, Incident Reporting, Permission to Take Off-Site, Mobile Devices, Clear Desk,  Requirements for all VA devices due to the risk of breach of VA sensitive information  For example: In order to ensure the protection of sensitive information, all removable storage devices that connect to VA’s resources via USB ports (i.e. thumb drives, MP3 Players – iPods, Zunes, and external hard drives) must be encrypted with FIPS certified encryption. Similarly storage media such as CDs/DVDs that contain VA sensitive information must be adequately protected with FIPS certified encryption.

SECURITY BASELINES From VA Handbook 6500 (p. 26) The impact level of sensitive information is high. From DRAFT VA Handbook 6500 FIPS 199 and VA require System Owners (in coordination with information data owners and the ISO) to categorize their information systems as low-, moderate-, or high-impact. Once the overall impact level of the information system is determined, an initial set of security controls can be selected from the minimum controls recommended by NIST for LOW, MODERATE, or HIGH baselines.

Melissa Short (540) Information Protection Portal: