Overview[]
The DHS Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) operates the DHS Privacy Office as well as serving as the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer. The DHS Chief Privacy Officer is appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
This was the first statutorily mandated CPO with extensive authority to oversee privacy in a U.S. government agency.
Under departmental guidance, the Chief Privacy Officer works closely with other departmental components, such as the General Counsel's Office and the Policy Office, to address privacy issues.
Responsibilities[]
The CPO serves as the senior official responsible for:
- Oversight of privacy incident management
- Responding to suspected or confirmed privacy incidents or incidents involving personally identifiable information (PII)
- Coordinating with the DHS Chief Information Officer and senior management when dealing with high-impact privacy incidents
- Providing the status and outcomes of ongoing and completed privacy incidents
- Distributing reports to the DHS and Component CIOs
- Receiving reports that impact DHS privacy programs
- Working with the DHS CIO and DHS CISO in preparation for release of computer security incident information involving PII or other privacy issues
- Convening and chairing incident response teams, such as the Privacy Incident Response Team (PIRT) and the Core Management Group (CMG).