Sensitive Data ExposureRisks & Response

at Indiana UniversityJonny Sweeny

IT Incident Response ManagerIndiana University

IHETS Tech Summit30 March 2007

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Overview

• Indiana’s New State Data Protection Laws(and a few other data protection laws and regulations)

• Indiana University’s Preparation• Indiana University’s Incident Response• What We’ve Learned• Questions

Indiana’s New State Data Protection Laws

Three Data Protection Laws I’ll Review

• Release of SSN• Disposal of Sensitive Data• Notice of Security Breach

#1 - Release of Social Security Number Law

Indiana Code (IC) 4-1-10

• Effective July 1, 2006, it is a crime for an Indiana state agency to disclose an individual’s Social Security Number to a party outside of the agency, unless the disclosure is authorized under Indiana state law

What is a State Agency?

• For the purposes of this law, a “state agency” includes the following:– A state elected official’s office– A state educational institution– A body corporate and politic of the state

created by state statute– The Indiana lobby registration

commission

Types of Disclosures Covered

• Any individual’s SSN (doesn’t have to be a “customer”), in any format:– Electronic– Paper– Oral

What SSN Disclosures are Authorized?• Disclosures for which we have the individual’s

express written consent• Disclosures of only the last four (4) digits of the SSN• Disclosures for the purpose of administering health

benefits of an employee or the employee’s dependent(s)

• Except where prohibited by state or federal law or a court order:– Disclosures to a local, state, or federal agency– Disclosures by our Police Department to an individual,

entity, or local, state or federal agency, for the purpose of furthering an investigation

• Disclosures that are expressly required (not just permitted) by state or federal law or a court order

• Disclosures made in the context of certain counterterrorism investigations

• Disclosures to commercial entities for use in certain activities authorized under 3 federal laws

Penalties for Unauthorized Disclosures – State Agency

• Enforced by the State Attorney General who can bring action against Agency

• Possibility of civil suit filed by affected individual(s)

• Costs associated– Constituent trust, time and other

resources needed to notify as required by the third law we are going to discuss

Penalties for Unauthorized Disclosures – Employees

• Knowing, intentional, or reckless violations are felonies:

• Up to 3 years’ jail time• Up to $10,000 fines

• Negligent violations are “infractions” are misdemeanors:

• Up to 1 year jail time• Up to $5,000 fines

• Possibility of civil suit filed by affected individual(s)

What Constitutes “Negligence”?

It is not clear whether “negligent” disclosure under the law covers only affirmative transfer of an SSN…

or also covers inadvertent exposure of SSNs to unauthorized access due to inadequate security measures.

#2--Personal Information Secure Disposal Law

Indiana Code (IC) 24-4-14

• Effective July 1, 2006, it is a crime for a person to dispose of certain personal information of a “customer” in a non-secure manner

What is a Person?

• For the purposes of this law, a "person" means:– an individual– a partnership– a corporation– a limited liability company– or another organization

What Does “Dispose of” Mean?

• Discarding or abandoning the “personal information” of a “customer” in an area accessible to the public

• Includes placing the personal information in a container for trash collection

• Don’t forget about disposal of computer drives and disks…

What Types of “Personal Information” are Covered?

• Social Security Numbers, OR• First initial or name PLUS last name

AND:– Credit card number– Financial account number or debit card

number in combination with a security code, password, or access code that permits account access

– Driver’s license number– State identification number

When is PI Not Covered?

• The law only applies to personal information that is neither “encrypted” nor “redacted”– “Encrypted”:

• transformed through the use of an algorithmic process into a form in which there is a low probability of assigning meaning without use of a confidential process or key; or

• secured by another method that renders the personal information unreadable or unusable

– “Redacted”: information is altered or truncated so no more than the last 5 digits of SSN or last 4 of other personal information are accessible

Who are “Customers”?

• Anyone who has received or contracted for the direct or indirect provision of goods or services and whose personal information you store, and

• Anyone who has given you their personal information in connection with a transaction with you

• For IU:– Includes students, parents, employees, bookstore and

theater customers, vendors who give us personal information, etc….

What Types of Disposal are Secure Enough?

• Shredding• Incinerating• Mutilating• Erasing• Methods that otherwise render the

information illegible or unusable

Relationship to Other Data Security Laws…

• State disposal law EXEMPTS persons who are already maintaining and complying with disposal program under:– HIPAA – Gramm-Leach-Bliley– Fair Credit Reporting Act – Driver’s Privacy Protection Act– USA Patriot Act/Executive Order 13224

#3 – Notice of Security Breach Law

Indiana Code (IC) 4-1-11 • Effective July 1, 2006, a State Agency

must notify individuals whose “unencrypted personal information was or is reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person” as a result of a system security breach

What Types of “Personal Information” are Covered?

• First initial or name PLUS last name AND at least one of the following:– SSN (> last 4 digits)– Driver’s license number– State identification card number– Credit card number– Debit card number– Financial Account number– Security code, access code, or password

of financial account

What Does “Unencrypted” Mean?

• It’s not defined in this law – best to assume the definition in the disposal law would apply

Some Exceptions

• This law only addresses computerized (electronic) data, not paper data

• Also, the law doesn’t cover theft of portable electronic devices with personal information stored on them, if access is protected by a password that has not been disclosed

Of course, IU can still give notice as a policy matter if we had these types of disclosures…

When Does Notice Have to be Given?

• “without unreasonable delay” • Consistent with

– legitimate needs of law enforcement, and

– measures needed to determine scope of breach and restore system integrity

• Notice may be delayed if law enforcement determines notice will impede criminal investigation

How May Notice Be Given?

• In writing• By email• By conspicuous posting on IU website

and notice to major statewide media, if– Cost of notice to individuals is $250K or

more,– More than 500,000 people must be

notified, or– We have insufficient contact information

for personal notice

Who Else Must Be Notified?

• The Indiana Attorney General• If more than 1,000 individuals’

information involved, must notify all consumer reporting agencies– Equifax, TransUnion, Experian– Heads up to them that individuals may

be requesting credit reports to monitor for attempted identity theft

Review and Compare:

• Release of SSN• Disposal of Sensitive Data• Notice of Security Breach

Other Regulations• Many other privacy/security rules and

regulations dealing with specific categories of data to be protected:– FERPA: student education records– GLB: nonpublic customer information of

“financial institutions” – HIPAA: personal health information– FACTA: consumer report data– PCI DSS: credit card transaction

information

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)

• Merchant bank agreements impose payment card data security standards

• Extensive and rigorous requirements that apply to all components of IT system involved with cardholder data access, retention and processing

• Requires immediate notice to payment card company in case of security breach

• Noncompliance may lead to fines, revocation of right to accept cards for payment

Indiana University’s Preparation

Indiana University

• Indiana University has eight campuses: – the original campus in Bloomington;– an urban campus in Indianapolis, which

also includes the IU Medical Center; – and six regional campuses in the cities

of Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Richmond, and New Albany.

• Total students: ~ 98,000• Total faculty and staff: ~22,000

Decentralized Environment

• “Data Stewards” responsible for policy and practice concerning their data– Including granting access to their systems,

and training about use of their data

• Colleges, departments, & units are responsible for local technology and security of that technology

• Individuals responsible for following policy

Strategy• IT Security & Policy Office partnered with

University Counsel and Internal Audit to devise plan:– Composed a letter, sent by President to all faculty

and staff– Gave presentations on new laws and what to do, to

the Chancellors, to departmental staff, and everyone in between!

– Created web page to compile information and resources in one place

– Ensured Incident Response was ready– Advise as needed

Indiana University’s Incident Response

Prior Preparation• Already had procedures and “Kit” in

place prior to the law being passed, due to existing industry best practice of notifying individuals

• Revised “Kit” to include new requirements of the Indiana law

• Presentations and Letter educated about how to report these incidents

Incident Response Overview

• Unit takes immediate action to report incident to IT Security & Policy Office (ITSPO)

• An Incident Team is immediately assembled to advise and assist in :– containing and limiting the exposure– investigating the attack– ensuring appropriate approvals– handling notification to the affected individuals

and agencies• Incident “belongs” to the unit that caused

it, but is “coordinated” by the ITSPO• Post mortem held 2-6 weeks afterwards

What Kind of Breaches?

• Prior to new law:– Faculty member kept old computer when new

ones were distributed, patches were not kept up to date, had grade rosters on it

– Outsourced server not properly secured • Since July, 2006:

– Secretary mistakenly emailed to wrong address, with spreadsheet attached

– Laptop of faculty member stolen from his locked car in his garage, had grade rosters on it

– Library posted archive data on web– Flash drive lost, with programmer’s data on it

• No damages yet reported – but we err on the side of caution

IU’s Sensitive Data Exposure Incident Kit

I. ChecklistII. Sample Notification LettersIII. Template for Web Page and FAQIV. Sample Press ReleasesV. Dealing with Contacts from Press

(with Sample Talking Points)

VI. Dealing with Contacts from Individuals

What We’ve Learned

Experience Tells Us…

• TIME IS CRITICAL• Unit will not have experience to handle

on their own– Important to have coordination by one unit,

sharing materials and knowledge gained• Focus should be on the individuals

affected, not the press• The Attorney General has given us an

A+!• Not sure if that is good or bad…

Issues

• Can we proactively look for this data, or will we get in trouble with the AG?

• How to ensure every employee is trained appropriately, regardless of whether they have access to a data repository or not

• Staying up to date with legislation both at state and federal levels…

Issues (cont.)

• In proactively looking for this data, we are considering approaches that are:– Systematic– Manageable– Relatively Thorough

Questions?

Jonny Sweenyjsweeny@iu.edu

Indiana University IT Security & Policy Office

http://itpo.iu.eduhttp://itso.iu.edu

Data Protection Web Page http://itpo.iu.edu/policies/bestpractices/

dataprotection.html