University of Minnesota
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http://www.umn.edu/urelate
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University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
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ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY

Reporting and Notifying Individuals of Security Breaches

Effective Date: May 2006
Last Update: December 2006
Responsible University Officer:
  • Chief Information Officer
Policy Owner:
  • Chief Information Officer
Policy Contact:

Printed on: . Please go to http://policy.umn.edu for the most current version of the Policy or related document.

POLICY STATEMENT

The University will provide timely and appropriate notice to affected individuals when there has been a breach of security of private data about them. A breach in security occurs when there is an unauthorized acquisition of private information maintained in any form by the University. The Chief Information Officer or delegate, in consultation with the General Counsel's Office, will be responsible for reviewing incidents to determine whether notification is required and directing responsible departments in complying with the notification obligation. All known or suspected breaches of security must be reported to the CIO, to enable the CIO to determine whether notification is required. Suspected breaches can be reported at abuse@umn.edu or your campus help-desk.

REASON FOR POLICY

This policy protects individuals from potential harm arising from the unauthorized acquisition of private information about them, and promotes compliance with state and federal privacy laws.

PROCEDURES

FORMS/INSTRUCTIONS

There are no forms for this policy.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

Subject Contact Phone Fax/Email
Primary Contact(s) Ken Hanna
Tracy Smith
612-625-1505

k-hann1@umn.edu
smith229@umn.edu
Breaches/electronic Ken Hanna 612-625-1505 k-hann1@umn.edu
Security Steve Cawley 612-625-8855 cawley@umn.edu
Medical records/PHI Ross Janssen 612-626-5844 janss006@umn.edu
Student records Tina Falkner 612-625-1064 rovic001@umn.edu
Legal Tracy Smith 612-624-9546 tracysmith@mail.ogc.umn.edu

Campus Help Desks

Campus Help Desk Phone
Help Desk Contacts
Security questions, concerns, or suspected incidents E-mail: abuse@umn.edu
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (TC) TC Help Desk 1-HELP
(612) 301-4357
University of Minnesota - Duluth (UMD) UMD Help Desk 218-726-8847
University of Minnesota - Morris (UMM) UMM Help Desk 320-589-6391
University of Minnesota - Crookston (UMC) UMC Help Desk 218-281-8000

DEFINITIONS

Breach of security
For purposes of this policy this means unauthorized acquisition of data maintained by the University, which compromises the security and classification of the data. Good faith acquisition of government data by an employee, contractor, or agent of the University is not a breach of the security of the data, if the data is not provided to an unauthorized person.
Data
Information collected, stored, transferred or reported for any purpose, whether in computers or in manual files.
Private data
Data about individuals that is classified by law as private or confidential and is maintained by the University in electronic, paper, or other format or medium. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, " private data" means data classified as not public and available to the subject of the data, and "confidential data" means data classified as not public but not available to the subject of the data. See Appendix attached to this policy.
Unauthorized acquisition
For the purposes of this policy, this means that a person has obtained University data without statutory authority or the consent of the individual who is the subject of the data, and with the intent to use the data for non-University purposes.

RESPONSIBILITIES

All Employees
Report good faith concerns about security breaches of private data at the University.
Chief Information Officer
Make determinations, in consultation with the General Counsel's Office, as to whether notification is required, and direct responsible departments in complying with notification obligations.
Collegiate/Unit Administrators
Provide timely and effective notification to individuals as directed by the CIO when there has been a security breach of private data in their area.
General Counsel
Provide legal advice to the Office of Information Technology and other University staff and decision makers to ensure compliance with notification obligations under the law.

APPENDICES

There are no appendices for this policy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

RELATED INFORMATION

Policies and Procedures

Statutes

Other Related Information

HISTORY

Effective:
May 2009

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