JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Have you Googled yourself lately just to see how much of your information is available to the world? How much information did you find about yourself that you had no idea was out on the Internet?
While it's impossible to control what is on the Internet you can control what information you safeguard about yourself and others when you use government computers. There is guidance that Airmen should be aware of and use when dealing with personal information. This guidance is called the Privacy Act of 1974.
The Privacy Act establishes a code of fair information practices that govern the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of personally identifiable information, or PII, about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies.
Chief Master Sgt. Glenda Verley, Air Force District of Washington Privacy Act Officer, reminds AFDW Airmen to get in the habit of putting access controls on electronic files containing PII.
"Protecting information is everyone's responsibility from inception to authorized release or destruction," Verley said. "Treat PII as if it was your own. Use encryption or password protection to prevent the risk of unauthorized access."
What does the Privacy Act protect? Do you know what is releasable and what is not?
Below are some examples of information that is not releasable without the written consent of the subject. This list is not all-inclusive.
-Marital status (single, divorced, widowed or separated)
-Number, name and sex of dependents
-Civilian educational degrees and major areas of study, unless the request for the information relates to the professional qualifications for federal employment
-School and year of graduation
-Home of record
-Home address and phone number
-Age and date of birth
-Present or future assignments for overseas or for routinely deployable or sensitive units
-Office and unit address and duty phone for overseas or for routinely deployable or sensitive units
-Race/ethnic origin
-Educational level, unless the request for this information relates to the professional qualifications for federal employment)
-Social Security number
Consider how much of this information you give out on social networking websites.
You may certainly divulge this information about yourself, but the Privacy Act protects you from others releasing this information without proper authority.
Airmen must be especially careful when sending Privacy Act material electronically or storing it on their computer. When sending electronically, be sure personal information is protected from unauthorized disclosure, loss and alteration. Encrypting the message is one way to do this.
The transmission of personal information over email assumes the message is for official use, so users must also add "FOUO" to the beginning of the subject line and begin the e-mail with the following statement: "This e-mail contains FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO) information which must be protected under the Privacy Act and AFI 33-332."
Don't use this statement indiscriminately ... just when it's necessary to warn recipients the message contains someone's protected personal information.
Unless each member in a workflow box or group email account has a need to know, don't send an e-mail that contains protected personal information; instead, send it to the individuals who are authorized to receive it.
Additionally, don't store Privacy Act material or personal identifiable information on your computer or network-shared drives unless it's also protected from unauthorized disclosure, loss and alteration.
Remember: Personal information that requires protection under the Privacy Act must be protected by everyone.
Editor's note: 1st Lt. Ashleigh Peck contributed to this article.