Free and Excellent Resources

West Virginia Executive Branch
Privacy Policy: Accountability

Free and Excellent Resources

Question:

The weekly Privacy Tips are great, but where do I go if I want more information on privacy and security?

Answer:

Want to learn more about privacy and information security? There are loads of great resources available to you. Here are a few of the websites we use:

Federal Trade Commission – the FTC is the Federal government’s main consumer protection agency, and it oversees many of the US Federal Privacy Laws. Here are some links:

General Privacy Laws:  www.ftc.gov/privacy/

Credit Reporting:  www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit.shtm
and www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/credit.html

Kids’ Privacy: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html

Telemarketing and Do Not Call:  www.ftc.gov/donotcall

Email marketing and CAN SPAM:  www.ftc.gov/spam

Financial Privacy:  http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/glbact.html

Additionally, the FTC runs the US government’s Identity Theft Website
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Official portal for you to check your consumer credit report: www.annualcreditreport.com
See also: www.ftc.gov/freereports

Information about HIPAA and Medical Privacy from the Department of Health & Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy

Information Security – US-CERT- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/alldocs.html

The International Association of Privacy Professionals:  http://www.privacyassociation.org

IAPP also has an excellent free clipping service – sign up for the “Daily Dashboard” to receive privacy news from around the world.  http://www.privacyassociation.org/publications/daily_dashboard/

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) is a California non-profit that provides consumer privacy advice. http://www.privacyrights.org

PRC also tracks security breaches:
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm

Do you know a good privacy resource? If so, please share it with your Privacy Officer!

Note: Your agency/bureau/department/division may have specific requirements – always check your policies and procedures. If you have questions, contact your Privacy Officer.