R 232026Z JUL 07
FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO ALNAV
BT
UNCLAS
ALNAV 057/07
MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/JUL// 
SUBJ/SAFEGUARDING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) FROM 
UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE// 
RMKS/1.  I WANT ALL MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE NAVY TO UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS I PLACE ON THE LOSS OF 
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII).
2.  DURING THE PAST 18 MONTHS, THE DON HAS REPORTED OVER 100 INCIDENTS 
INVOLVING THE LOSS OF PII, IMPACTING OVER 200,000 NAVY AND MARINE CORPS 
PERSONNEL, INCLUDING RETIREES, CIVILIANS, AND THEIR DEPENDENTS.  THE 
MOST COMMON CAUSES OF LOSS/COMPROMISE HAVE BEEN THE LOSS OR THEFT OF 
LAPTOP COMPUTERS, THUMB DRIVES, AND OTHER PORTABLE REMOVABLE MEDIA; 
MATERIAL BEING ERRONEOUSLY POSTED TO DON WEB SITES; DOCUMENTS BEING 
MISPLACED OR STOLEN; EMAILS WITH ATTACHMENTS BEING IMPROPERLY FORWARDED; 
AND DOCUMENTS PLACED INTO RECYCLING AND TRASH BINS PRIOR TO BEING 
RENDERED UNRECOGNIZABLE (I.E., BEYOND RECONSTRUCTION).  THESE LOSSES 
AND ASSOCIATED POTENTIAL/ACTUAL COMPROMISES ARE COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING, 
AND INTERFERE WITH THE DEPARTMENT S MISSION. THEY ALSO CREATE 
UNNECESSARY RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT FOR OUR WARFIGHTERS AND THE DON 
WORKFORCE AND COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT DON S REPUTATION.
3.  OUR SAILORS, MARINES, AND CIVILIANS ENTRUST US WITH PII ROUTINELY, 
AND IT IS OUR CHARGE TO ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES WE EMPLOY 
SAFEGUARD THIS SENSITIVE INFORMATION.
UNFORTUNATELY, NUMEROUS NAVAL MESSAGES, MEDIA ATTENTION, AND CHANGES TO 
POLICY, HAVE HAD ONLY A LIMITED IMPACT ON IMPROVING OUR HANDLING AND 
SAFEGUARDING OF PII, AND LOSS HAVE CONTINUED.   
4.  THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, THE COMMANDANT, AND I ARE REVIEWING 
INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE CONTROLS OVER PII.  WHILE IMPROVEMENTS ARE BEING 
INSTITUTIONALIZED, ALL OF US MUST TAKE ACTION TO ENSURE WE WORK TO 
ELIMINATE MISHANDLING OF PII.  WE NEED TO BE CONSTANTLY AWARE OF THE 
NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF PII, COLLECT ONLY WHAT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED, AND 
TAKE CARE THAT WE HANDLE, SAFEGUARD, AND DISPOSE OF PII PROPERLY.  JUST 
AS WE DO NOT TOLERATE LOSS OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, WE CANNOT 
TOLERATE THE LOSS OF PII.
5.  OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, YOU WILL SEE POLICY CHANGES AIMED AT 
SHAPING BEHAVIOR AND INSTITUTION CONSISTENT ACCOUNTABILITY.  SENIOR 
LEADERSHIP MUST ENSURE THAT PROPER SAFEGUARDS ARE IN PLACE, AND WHEN 
EXISTING GUIDANCE IS NOT ENOUGH, TAKE ACTION AS THE SPECIFIC 
CIRCUMSTANCE DICTATES.  WHEN LOSSES DO OCCUR, COMMANDS MUST COMPLY WITH 
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES AND ASSIST THOSE INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY THE 
PII LOSS.  CERTAIN INSTANCES OF PII LOSS MAY EVEN CALL FOR 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND/OR DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
6.  WE CANNOT CONTROL ALL EVENTS THAT CAUSE THESE INCIDENTS, BUT WE CAN 
IMPROVE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER THE HANDLING AND DISPOSAL OF PII, AND 
BETTER TRAIN AND EDUCATE OUR PEOPLE.  AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION AT 
ALL LEVELS OF THE CHAIN OF COMMAND MUST OCCUR.  SPECIFIC ACTIONS WILL 
BE DETAILED IN A SUBSEQUENT NAVAL MESSAGE.
7.  ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE, AS WELL AS TRAINING AND OTHER PRIVACY 
RESOURCES, ARE AVAILABLE ON THE NAVY S PRIVACY WEB SITE AT 
HTTP://PRIVACY.NAVY.MIL.  GUIDANCE AND TOOLS ON IMPLEMENTING ENCRYPTION 
OF DATA AT REST IS ALSO FORTHCOMING.   
8.  THE DEPARTMENT HAS A PROUD TRADITION AND A SUPERB REPUTATION FOR 
TAKING CARE OF ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES.  I AM CONFIDENT THAT, 
THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT, WE WILL SUCCEED IN SAFEGUARDING THE 
PRIVACY INFORMATION OF THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE.  WE OWE NO LESS TO OUR 
DEDICATED PERSONNEL. 
9.  PRIVACY ACT POINTS OF CONTACT:  SECNAV STAFF/DIRECT-REPORTS AND 
NAVY:  MS. DORIS LAMA, COMM: 202-685-6545, DSN: 325-6545 OR 
DORIS.LAMA@NAVY.MIL.  USMC:  MS. TERESA ROSS, COMM: 703-614-4008, DSN: 
224-4008 OR TERESA.D.ROSS@USMC.MIL.  DON CIO: STEVE MUCK, COMM:  703-
602-4412 OR STEVEN.MUCK@NAVY.MIL.
10.  RELEASED BY THE HONORABLE DONALD C. WINTER, SECRETARY OF THE 
NAVY.// 


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