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Working @ UB

Policies protect personal data

Published: March 4, 2009

UB has implemented two new policies designed to protect the personal data of members of the university community.

Both the Protection of Regulated Private Data Policy and Standards for Securing Regulated Private Data aim to protect personal data of UB employees, students and patients that may be susceptible to identity theft, such as social security numbers, credit/debit/bank card numbers, driver license numbers, computer passwords and protected health information.

Security breaches have occurred at approximately 150 institutions of higher education this year, with the total number of reported incidents rising 67.5 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to Elias G. Eldayrie, chief information officer, and Michael F. LeVine, associate vice president and controller.

“We know that members of the UB community are concerned about threats to their personal privacy, from ‘phishing’ email scams that attempt to trick recipients into revealing personal information, to security breaches that compromise stored personal information,” Eldayie and LeVine say. “At UB, protecting personal privacy is a priority, and we are taking a proactive approach to enhancing protection for students, faculty, staff, patients and others in our community.”

The new policies, which were signed by President John B. Simpson in January, outline the rules regarding storage, disclosure, access and transmission of these private data, and the associated information security and privacy standards.

Employees who have access to sensitive personal information can better understand the new policies, and their responsibilities under the policies, by taking an online tutorial, “Information Security: Everyone's Responsibility,” offered by University Human Resources.

In this free, self-directed course, participants learn why a security breach at UB could be dangerous and costly, the tricks and techniques that cyber-thieves use to steal information, and tips to avoid compromising sensitive information.

—Sue Wuetcher

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