October 2021 Privacy Points

Happy Halloween and Happy Hacktober! Hopefully you were able to participate in several of this month's activities coordinated by the State Office of Cybersecurity.

You may wonder what does security have to do with privacy? Well, they are two sides of the same coin! Check out my interview with GovTech where I discuss the Office of Privacy and Data Protection's (OPDP) overlap and coordination with the Office of Cybersecurity (OCS).

To that end - you can see the security webinar OPDP hosted last month with the State Auditor's Office and OCS. The recording and slide deck are on our website. Thanks to Zack Hudgins with my office, Shane Swanson at OCS, and Aaron Munn with the State Auditor's Office for their presentations on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and CIS controls and how these standards are being incorporated to protect data in Washington.

OPDP also hosted a webinar this month on Privacy Impact Assessments. Our gratitude goes to Kuma for an excellent presentation on the background, functionality, and importance of PIAs. You can find the recording and slide deck on our website as well.

Reports

OPDP is in the midst of report drafting to meet several legislative deadlines. Here's what to watch for:

  • ADS Report - The Automated Decision-Making Systems (ADS) workgroup is close to finalizing recommendations and sharing our findings on ADS and Artificial Intelligence use in the state of Washington. For more information on the workgroup's progress, please visit our ADS page. The report will be released in early December 2021.
  • 5432 Report - OCS, OPDP, and the state Office of the Attorney General are also wrapping up work on best practices for data governance, data protection, and the sharing of data relating to cybersecurity. The report will include details on the adherence to privacy principles and model terms for data-sharing contracts.
  • State Privacy Assessment - I want to thank state agencies for their diligent work and participation in the annual state privacy assessment survey. We were near 100% participation from state agencies and will also be releasing the report on trends and takeaways from state agencies regarding their privacy practices and handling of confidential information.

News items that caught OPDP's attention this month include:

See you next month with more updates from our office!

Katy Ruckle

State Chief Privacy Officer