October 2020 Privacy Points

Happy fall!

The Office of Privacy Data Protection (OPDP) has been busy with several presentations and initiatives. Our quarterly State Agency Privacy Forum is this Thursday, Oct. 22. We will be finalizing the Washington State Agency Privacy Principles, discussing upcoming legislation, sharing early privacy assessment survey impressions, and hearing from the Interagency Data Sharing Group.

OPDP also is reviewing agency decision packages with other members of the Office of Chief Information Officer. The work is part of a legal requirement to review and score decision packages that involve significant IT investments to ensure alignment with the Washington State Enterprise Technology Strategy.

Presentations

Public Records Act: I presented on privacy and the Washington State Public Records Act (and open records PRA) for our September webinar. We discussed the history of privacy in the context of the PRA and the difficult balance between individual privacy.

Committee hearing: If you missed it, I presented with the Department of Health before the House Innovation, Technology, and Economic Development (ITED) Committee on September 30, 2020 at 10:00 am. The presentation was part of a work session on technology and innovation in response to the pandemic. You can view the work session on TVW: https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2020091020

Pacific Northwest Economic Region: I participated with Ginger Armbruster, Chief Privacy Officer for the City of Seattle in a panel discussion hosted by Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER). The discussion was about the nexus of cybersecurity, privacy, and managing risks in today’s connected world: https://vimeo.com/467432617

ACCIS: Association of County and City Information Systems invited me to present at their virtual fall conference. I presented on the Washington State Data Breach Notification law (RCW 42.56.590 and RCW 19.255) and emphasized the importance of involving your IT security professionals when evaluating security standards protecting data and evaluating system integrity when assessing incidents.