Subject:

Securing Confidential, Personal and Private Information

Guidance:

This advisory is intended to remind Business Units that confidential personal, and private information (confidential information) should never be entered in any field in SFS that has not been designed to hold confidential information. For example, Business Units should not enter confidential information in the invoice number, invoice description, and comments fields of a voucher.

Examples of confidential information include:

• Social Security numbers;
• Credit/debit card numbers;
• Driver license numbers;
• Bank account numbers;
• Addresses for individuals;
• Non-business telephone numbers;
• Dates of birth;
• Medical information; and
• Other information protected by law.

If a Business Unit has included in SFS any confidential information in a field that was not designed to hold confidential information, please contact SFS immediately at [email protected] and provide us with the control document number (e.g., voucher number), a description of the confidential information, and the field name(s) in which the confidential information resides.

For more information, see the Guide to Financial Operations (GFO), Chapter III, Section 8 – Confidential Personal, and Private Information.