Merry December! Welcome to the year’s end!
The Office of Privacy and Data Protection has submitted the 2020 OPDP Performance Report to the Legislature. This performance report is required every four years.
While not all performance metrics improved due to various challenges, we do have a lot of accomplishments to be proud of this year including:
- Finalizing the Washington State Agency Privacy Principles.
- Launching monthly webinars or forums, which helped us reach over 1,800 attendees this year.
- Developing a model breach assessment template that can be used by state and local agencies.
In addition to the Performance Report, we also released the 2020 State Agency Privacy Assessment results and recommendations. The report is based on the privacy survey completed by agencies this past summer and fall.
Budget
We are pleased to share that OPDP and our important policy goals were highlighted in the Governor’s budget. We are eager to build capacity in our office to continue to act as a central point of contact and resource for state agencies and local governments in the area of privacy and data protection.
Presentations
- When Health Care Privacy Laws and the Public Records Act Collide: Matt King presented on Monday, December 14, 2020 in a virtual CLE hosted by the Washington State Bar Association’s Administrative Law Section.
- Building a Privacy Program (w/o additional resources) and Privacy-By-Design Principles: I presented at IPMA’s Development: Data Privacy Meeting on December 15, 2020.
- Washington State Transportation Committee Meeting: I presented on the System Technology & Data Security Subcommittee 2020 work for the Washington State Autonomous Vehicle Workgroup.
WA Notify
Speaking of committees, I am encouraged to see the successful launch of the WA Notify exposure notification feature. As you may be aware, I was on the oversight committee that recommended its use in Washington. Last tally, I saw it had been enabled more than 1.45 million times. While vaccines may be around the corner, WA Notify is another tool to help curb infections now. I have enabled it on my phone and included the instructions on how to do so here.
While 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges to all of us, we look forward to continuing to tackle privacy initiatives for the state next year and hope to see you soon!
Happy safe holidays to all!
Katy Ruckle
State Chief Privacy Officer
