SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Matt went into his son’s bedroom one evening and found him stretched out on his bed typing on his laptop. “Doing your network?†Matt asked hopefully.
“No,†the boy said. “I’m filling out a survey.â€
Matt looked over his son’s shoulder at his computer screen. “What kind of survey?†“It’s asking Questions about my opinions.â€
“Let me see,†Matt said, and began reading the list of Questions that his son had already answered. “It’s asking your opinions about the government and citizenship. That’s a little odd. You’re only ten.â€
Matt wondered how the web link to the survey had ended up in his son’s email inbox. Thinking the message might have been sent to his son by mistake he opened it and read it. It had come from an entity called the Leadership Project, and the content and the graphics indicated that it was intended for children. As Matt read further he learned that kids who took the survey were automatically registered in a contest to win the first book in a series about famous leaders.
To Matt, this clearly seemed like a marketing ploy to solicit goods and services to children. He asked his son if he had been prompted to give information about himself in order to take the survey. His son told him he had been asked to give his name, address, telephone number, and date of birth, and to answer Questions about his favorite games and toys.
Matt was concerned. He doubted if it was legal for the marketer to collect information from his son in the way that it was. Then he noticed several other commercial emails from marketers advertising products for children in his son’s inbox, and he decided it was time to report the incident to the proper authorities.
Based on the incident, the FTC’s enforcement actions against the marketer would most likely include what violation?
Although an employer may have a strong incentive or legal obligation to monitor employees’ conduct or behavior, some excessive monitoring may be considered an intrusion on employees’ privacy? Which of the following is the strongest example of excessive monitoring by the employer?
Which of these organizations would be required to provide its customers with an annual privacy notice?
In which situation would a policy of “no consumer choice†or “no option†be expected?
A law enforcement subpoenas the ACME telecommunications company for access to text message records of a person suspected of planning a terrorist attack. The company had previously encrypted its text message records so that only the suspect could access this data.
What law did ACME violate by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency?
Which of the following would NOT constitute an exception to the authorization requirement under the HIPAA Privacy Rule?
What is an exception to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 ban on interception of wire, oral and electronic communications?
All of the following organizations are specified as covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) EXCEPT?
Which of the following became the first state to pass a law specifically regulating the practices of data brokers?
Which of the following federal agencies does NOT enforce the Disposal Rule under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)?
Which of the following is NOT one of three broad categories of products offered by data brokers, as identified by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)?
What is a key way that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) prevents unauthorized access into a person’s back account?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
You are the chief privacy officer at HealthCo, a major hospital in a large U.S. city in state A. HealthCo is a HIPAA-covered entity that provides healthcare services to more than 100,000 patients. A third-party cloud computing service provider, CloudHealth, stores and manages the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of these individuals on behalf of HealthCo. CloudHealth stores the data in state B. As part of HealthCo’s business associate agreement (BAA) with CloudHealth, HealthCo requires CloudHealth to implement security measures, including industry standard encryption practices, to adequately protect the data. However, HealthCo did not perform due diligence on CloudHealth before entering the contract, and has not conducted audits of CloudHealth’s security measures.
A CloudHealth employee has recently become the victim of a phishing attack. When the employee unintentionally clicked on a link from a suspicious email, the PHI of more than 10,000 HealthCo patients was compromised. It has since been published online. The HealthCo cybersecurity team quickly identifies the perpetrator as a known hacker who has launched similar attacks on other hospitals – ones that exposed the PHI of public figures including celebrities and politicians.
During the course of its investigation, HealthCo discovers that CloudHealth has not encrypted the PHI in accordance with the terms of its contract. In addition, CloudHealth has not provided privacy or security training to its employees. Law enforcement has requested that HealthCo provide its investigative report of the breach and a copy of the PHI of the individuals affected.
A patient affected by the breach then sues HealthCo, claiming that the company did not adequately protect the individual’s ePHI, and that he has suffered substantial harm as aresult of the exposed data. The patient’s attorney has submitted a discovery request for the ePHI exposed in the breach.
Of the safeguards required by the HIPAA Security Rule, which of the following is NOT at issue due to HealthCo’s actions?
All of the following are tasks in the “Discover†phase of building an information management program EXCEPT?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
When there was a data breach involving customer personal and financial information at a large retail store, the company’s directors were shocked. However, Roberta, a privacy analyst at the company and a victim of identity theft herself, was not. Prior to the breach, she had been working on a privacy program report for the executives. How the company shared and handled data across its organization was a major concern. There were neither adequate rules about access to customer information nor
procedures for purging and destroying outdated data. In her research, Roberta had discovered that even low- level employees had access to all of the company’s customer data, including financial records, and that the company still had in its possession obsolete customer data going back to the 1980s.
Her report recommended three main reforms. First, permit access on an as-needs-to-know basis. This would mean restricting employees’ access to customer information to data that was relevant to the work performed. Second, create a highly secure database for storing customers’ financial information (e.g., credit card and bank account numbers) separate from less sensitive information. Third, identify outdated customer information and then develop a process for securely disposing of it.
When the breach occurred, the company’s executives called Roberta to a meeting where she presented the recommendations in her report. She explained that the company having a national customer base meant it would have to ensure that it complied with all relevant state breach notification laws. Thanks to Roberta’s guidance, the company was able to notify customers quickly and within the specific timeframes set by state breach notification laws.
Soon after, the executives approved the changes to the privacy program that Roberta recommended in her report. The privacy program is far more effective now because of these changes and, also, because privacy and security are now considered the responsibility of every employee.
Which principle of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, if adopted, would best reform the company’s privacy program?
In 2014, Google was alleged to have violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) through its Apps for Education suite of tools. For what specific practice did students sue the company?
The FTC often negotiates consent decrees with companies found to be in violation of privacy principles. How does this benefit both parties involved?
Which of the following practices is NOT a key component of a data ethics framework?
In what way does the “Red Flags Rule†under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) relate to the owner of a grocery store who uses a money wire service?
What was unique about the action that the Federal Trade Commission took against B.J.’s Wholesale Club in 2005?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
When there was a data breach involving customer personal and financial information at a large retail store, the company’s directors were shocked. However, Roberta, a privacy analyst at the company and a victim of identity theft herself, was not. Prior to the breach, she had been working on a privacy program report for the executives. How the company shared and handled data across its organization was a major concern. There were neither adequate rules about access to customer information nor
procedures for purging and destroying outdated data. In her research, Roberta had discovered that even low- level employees had access to all of the company’s customer data, including financial records, and that the company still had in its possession obsolete customer data going back to the 1980s.
Her report recommended three main reforms. First, permit access on an as-needs-to-know basis. This would mean restricting employees’ access to customer information to data that was relevant to the work performed. Second, create a highly secure database for storing customers’ financial information (e.g., credit card and bank account numbers) separate from less sensitive information. Third, identify outdated customer information and then develop a process for securely disposing of it.
When the breach occurred, the company’s executives called Roberta to a meeting where she presented the recommendations in her report. She explained that the company having a national customer base meant it would have to ensure that it complied with all relevant state breach notification laws. Thanks to Roberta’s guidance, the company was able to notify customers quickly and within the specific timeframes set by state breach notification laws.
Soon after, the executives approved the changes to the privacy program that Roberta recommended in her report. The privacy program is far more effective now because of these changes and, also, because privacy and security are now considered the responsibility of every employee.
What could the company have done differently prior to the breach to reduce their risk?
Which authority supervises and enforces laws regarding advertising to children via the Internet?
Which of the following best describes an employer’s privacy-related responsibilities to an employee who has left the workplace?
In March 2012, the FTC released a privacy report that outlined three core principles for companies handling consumer data. Which was NOT one of these principles?
What role does the U.S. Constitution play in the area of workplace privacy?
An organization self-certified under Privacy Shield must, upon request by an individual, do what?
In 2012, the White House and the FTC both issued reports advocating a new approach to privacy enforcement that can best be described as what?
Privacy Is Hiring Inc., a CA-based company, is an online specialty recruiting firm focusing on placing privacy professionals in roles at major companies. Job candidates create online profiles
outlining their experience and credentials, and can pay $19.99/month via credit card to have their profiles promoted to potential employers. Privacy Is Hiring Inc. keeps all customer data at rest encrypted on its servers.
Under what circumstances would Privacy Is Hiring Inc., need to notify affected individuals in the event of a data breach?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Matt went into his son’s bedroom one evening and found him stretched out on his bed typing on his laptop. “Doing your homework?†Matt asked hopefully.
“No,†the boy said. “I’m filling out a survey.â€
Matt looked over his son’s shoulder at his computer screen. “What kind of survey?†“It’s asking QUESTION NO:s about my opinions.â€
“Let me see,†Matt said, and began reading the list of QUESTION NO:s that his son had already answered. “It’s asking your opinions about the government and citizenship. That’s a little odd. You’re only ten.â€
Matt wondered how the web link to the survey had ended up in his son’s email inbox. Thinking the message might have been sent to his son by mistake he opened it and read it. It had come from an entity called the Leadership Project, and the content and the graphics indicated that it was intended for children. As Matt read further he learned that kids whotook the survey were automatically registered in a contest to win the first book in a series about famous leaders.
To Matt, this clearly seemed like a marketing ploy to solicit goods and services to children. He asked his son if he had been prompted to give information about himself in order to take the survey. His son told him he had been asked to give his name, address, telephone number, and date of birth, and to answer QUESTION NO:s about his favorite games and toys.
Matt was concerned. He doubted if it was legal for the marketer to collect information from his son in the way that it was. Then he noticed several other commercial emails from marketers advertising products for children in his son’s inbox, and he decided it was time to report the incident to the proper authorities.
Depending on where Matt lives, the marketer could be prosecuted for violating which of the following?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Noah is trying to get a new job involving the management of money. He has a poor personal credit rating, but he has made better financial decisions in the past two years.
One potential employer, Arnie’s Emporium, recently called to tell Noah he did not get a position. As part of the application process, Noah signed a consent form allowing the employer to request his credit report from a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Noah thinks that the report hurt his chances, but believes that he may not ever know whether it was his credit that cost him the job. However, Noah is somewhat relieved that he was not offered this particular position. He noticed that the store where he interviewed was extremely disorganized. He imagines that his credit report could still
be sitting in the office, unsecured.
Two days ago, Noah got another interview for a position at Sam’s Market. The interviewer told Noah that his credit report would be a factor in the hiring decision. Noah was surprised because he had not seen anything on paper about this when he applied.
Regardless, the effect of Noah’s credit on his employability troubles him, especially since he has tried so hard to improve it. Noah made his worst financial decisions fifteen years ago, and they led to bankruptcy. These were decisions he made as a young man, and most of his debt at the time consisted of student loans, credit card debt, and a few unpaid bills – all of which Noah is still working to pay off. He often laments that decisions he made fifteen years ago are still affecting him today.
In addition, Noah feels that an experience investing with a large bank may have contributed to his financial troubles. In 2007, in an effort to earn money to help pay off his debt, Noah talked to a customer service representative at a large investment company who urged him to purchase stocks. Without understanding the risks, Noah agreed. Unfortunately, Noah lost a great deal of money.
After losing the money, Noah was a customer of another financial institution that suffered a large security breach. Noah was one of millions of customers whose personal information was compromised. He wonders if he may have been a victim of identity theft and whether this may have negatively affected his credit.
Noah hopes that he will soon be able to put these challenges behind him, build excellent credit, and find the perfect job.
Consumers today are most likely protected from situations like the one Noah had buying stock because of which federal action or legislation?
Mega Corp. is a U.S.-based business with employees in California, Virginia, and Colorado. Which of the following must Mega Corp. comply with in regard to its human resources data?
What is the most likely reason that states have adopted their own data breach notification laws?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Felicia has spent much of her adult life overseas, and has just recently returned to the U.S. to help her friend Celeste open a jewelry store in California. Felicia, despite being excited at the prospect, has a number of security concerns, and has only grudgingly accepted the need tohire other employees. In order to guard against the loss of valuable merchandise, Felicia wants to carefully screen applicants. With their permission, Felicia would like to run credit checks, administer polygraph tests, and scrutinize videos of interviews. She intends to read applicants’ postings on social media, ask QUESTION NO:s about drug addiction, and solicit character references. Felicia believes that if potential employees are serious about becoming part of a dynamic new business, they will readily agree to these requirements.
Felicia is also in favor of strict employee oversight. In addition to protecting the inventory, she wants to prevent mistakes during transactions, which will require video monitoring. She also wants to regularly check the company vehicle’s GPS for locations visited by employees. She also believes that employees who use their own devices for work-related purposes should agree to a certain amount of supervision.
Given her high standards, Felicia is skeptical about the proposed location of the store. She has been told that many types of background checks are not allowed under California law. Her friend Celeste thinks these worries are unfounded, as long as applicants verbally agree to the checks and are offered access to the results. Nor does Celeste share Felicia’s concern about state breach notification laws, which, she claims, would be costly to implement even on a minor scale. Celeste believes that
even if the business grows a customer database of a few thousand, it’s unlikely that a state agency would hassle an honest business if an accidental security incident were to occur.
In any case, Celeste feels that all they need is common sense – like remembering to tear up sensitive documents before throwing them in the recycling bin. Felicia hopes that she’s right, and that all of her concerns will be put to rest next month when their new business consultant (who is also a privacy professional) arrives from North Carolina.
Regarding credit checks of potential employees, Celeste has a misconception regarding what?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Noah is trying to get a new job involving the management of money. He has a poor personal credit rating, but he has made better financial decisions in the past two years.
One potential employer, Arnie’s Emporium, recently called to tell Noah he did not get a position. As part of the application process, Noah signed a consent form allowing the employer to request his credit report from a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Noah thinks that the report hurt his chances, but believes that he may not ever know whether it was his credit that cost him the job. However, Noah is somewhat relieved that he was not offered this particular position. He noticed that the store where he interviewed was extremely disorganized. He imagines that his credit report could still
be sitting in the office, unsecured.
Two days ago, Noah got another interview for a position at Sam’s Market. The interviewer told Noah that his credit report would be a factor in the hiring decision. Noah was surprised because he had not seen anything on paper about this when he applied.
Regardless, the effect of Noah’s credit on his employability troubles him, especially since he has tried so hard to improve it. Noah made his worst financial decisions fifteen years ago, and they led to bankruptcy. These were decisions he made as a young man, and most of his debt at the time consisted of student loans, credit card debt, and a few unpaid bills – all of which Noah is still working to pay off. He often laments that decisions he made fifteen years ago are still affecting him today.
In addition, Noah feels that an experience investing with a large bank may have contributed to his financial troubles. In 2007, in an effort to earn money to help pay off his debt, Noah talked to a customer service representative at a large investment company who urged him to purchase stocks. Without understanding the risks, Noah agreed. Unfortunately, Noah lost a great deal of money.
After losing the money, Noah was a customer of another financial institution that suffered a large security breach. Noah was one of millions of customers whose personal informationwas compromised. He wonders if he may have been a victim of identity theft and whether this may have negatively affected his credit.
Noah hopes that he will soon be able to put these challenges behind him, build excellent credit, and find the perfect job.
Based on the scenario, which legislation should ease Noah’s worry about his credit report as a result of applying at Arnie’s Emporium?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
A US-based startup company is selling a new gaming application. One day, the CEO of the company receives an urgent letter from a prominent EU-based retail partner. Triggered by an unresolved complaint lodged by an EU resident, the letter describes an ongoing investigation by a supervisory authority into the retailer’s data handling practices.
The complainant accuses the retailer of improperly disclosing her personal data, without consent, to parties in the United States. Further, the complainant accuses the EU-based retailer of failing to respond to her withdrawal of consent and request for erasure of her personal data. Your organization, the US-based startup company, was never informed of this request for erasure by the EU-based retail partner. The supervisory authority investigating the complaint has threatened the suspension of data flows if the parties involved do not cooperate with the investigation. The letter closes with an urgent request: “Please act immediately by identifying all personal data received from our company.â€
This is an important partnership. Company executives know that its biggest fans come from Western Europe; and this retailer is primarily responsible for the startup’s rapid market penetration.
As the Company’s data privacy leader, you are sensitive to the criticality of the relationship with the retailer.
Under the GDPR, the complainant’s request regarding her personal information is known as what?
Within what time period must a commercial message sender remove a recipient’s address once they have asked to stop receiving future e-mail?
Sarah lives in San Francisco, California. Based on a dramatic increase in unsolicited commercial emails, Sarah believes that a major social media platform with over 50 million users has collected a lot of personal information about her. The company that runs the platform is based in New York and France.
Why is Sarah entitled to ask the social media platform to delete the personal information they have collected about her?
Once a breach has been definitively established, which task should be prioritized next?
When developing a company privacy program, which of the following relationships will most help a privacy professional develop useful guidance for the organization?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Felicia has spent much of her adult life overseas, and has just recently returned to the U.S. to help her friend Celeste open a jewelry store in California. Felicia, despite being excited at the prospect, has a number of security concerns, and has only grudgingly accepted the need to hire other employees. In order to guard against the loss of valuable merchandise, Felicia wants to carefully screen applicants. With their permission, Felicia would like to run credit checks, administer polygraph tests, and scrutinize videos of interviews. She intends to read applicants’ postings on social media, ask QUESTION NO:s about drug addiction, and solicit character references. Felicia believes that if potential employees are serious about becoming part of a dynamic new business, they will readily agree to these requirements.
Felicia is also in favor of strict employee oversight. In addition to protecting the inventory, she wants to prevent mistakes during transactions, which will require video monitoring. She also wants to regularly check the company vehicle’s GPS for locations visited by employees. She also believes that employees who use their own devices for work-related purposes should agree to a certain amount of supervision.
Given her high standards, Felicia is skeptical about the proposed location of the store. She has been told that many types of background checks are not allowed under California law. Her friend Celeste thinks these worries are unfounded, as long as applicants verbally agree to the checks and are offered access to the results. Nor does Celeste share Felicia’s concern about state breach notification laws, which, she claims, would be costly to implement even on a minor scale. Celeste believes that
even if the business grows a customer database of a few thousand, it’s unlikely that a state agency would hassle an honest business if an accidental security incident were to occur.
In any case, Celeste feels that all they need is common sense – like remembering to tear up sensitive documents before throwing them in the recycling bin. Felicia hopes that she’s right, and that all of her concerns will be put to rest next month when their new business consultant (who is also a privacy professional) arrives from North Carolina.
Based on Felicia’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) plan, the business consultant will most likely advise Felicia and Celeste to do what?
In a case of civil litigation, what might a defendant who is being sued for distributing an employee’s private information face?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Declan has just started a job as a nursing assistant in a radiology department at Woodland Hospital. He has also started a program to become a registered nurse.
Before taking this career path, Declan was vaguely familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). He now knows that he must help ensure the security of his patients’ Protected Health Information (PHI). Therefore, he is thinking carefully about privacy issues.
On the morning of his first day, Declan noticed that the newly hired receptionist handed each patient a HIPAA privacy notice. He wondered if it was necessary to give these privacy notices to returning patients, and if the radiology department could reduce paper waste through a system of one-time distribution.
He was also curious about the hospital’s use of a billing company. He questioned whether the hospital was doing all it could to protect the privacy of its patients if the billing company had details about patients’ care.
On his first day Declan became familiar with all areas of the hospital’s large radiology department. As he was organizing equipment left in the halfway, he overheard a conversation between two hospital administrators. He was surprised to hear that a portable hard drive containing non-encrypted patient information was missing. The administrators expressed relief that the hospital would be able to avoid liability. Declan was surprised, and wondered whether the hospital had plans to properly report what had happened.
Despite Declan’s concern about this issue, he was amazed by the hospital’s effort to integrate Electronic Health Records (EHRs) into the everyday care of patients. He thought about the potential for streamlining care even more if they were accessible to all medical facilities nationwide.
Declan had many positive interactions with patients. At the end of his first day, he spoke to one patient, John, whose father had just been diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease. John was about to get blood work done, and he feared that the blood work could reveal a genetic predisposition to the disease that could affect his ability to obtain insurance coverage. Declan told John that he did not think that was possible, but the patient was wheeled away before he could explain why. John plans to ask a colleague about this.
In one month, Declan has a paper due for one his classes on a health topic of his choice. By then, he will have had many interactions with patients he can use as examples. He will be pleased to give credit to John by name for inspiring him to think more carefully about genetic testing.
Although Declan’s day ended with many Questions, he was pleased about his new position.
What is the most likely way that Declan might directly violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?
Which of the following best describes what a “private right of action†is?