Privacy Data Breach
Guidance for a process for protecting personally identifiable information (PII) and creating policy requirements for CMS staff and partners to notify the proper authorities in the event that an incident, breach, or potential breach, to PII has occurred.
Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Issue Date: January 01, 2020
It’s our job to prevent, protect against, and respond to privacy incidents involving personally identifiable information (PII)/protected health information (PHI) we maintain.
What’s a Privacy Incident?
A privacy incident is any event that results in (or could result in) unauthorized use or disclosure of PII/PHI where persons other than authorized users have access (or potential access) to PII/PHI, or use it for an unauthorized purpose.
Incident/Breach Handling
The Incident Management Team (IMT) within the CMS Cybersecurity Integration Center (CCIC) manages privacy incidents enterprise-wide based on policies and procedures in accordance with federal information security and privacy requirements. For more information on incident/breach handling, visit RMH Chapter 08 Incident Response.
How to Report Incident
CMS staff and contractors should contact the CMS IT Service Desk to report a suspected or confirmed privacy incident within one hour of discovery:
- 410-786-2580 or 1-800-562-1963
- CMS_IT_Service_Desk@cms.hhs.gov
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DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.