Caring About Your Personal Information - Not

As noted on Government Executive's Web site, the Government Accountability Office has found that only two federal agencies -- the Treasury and Transportation departments -- have been able to demonstrate that they have implemented the Office of Management and Budget's issued guidance in 2006 and 2007 reiterating governmental agency responsibilities under the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002 and the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002. OMB's guidance drew particular attention to agency security and privacy requirements associated with personally identifiable information. Some 18 agencies met the guidance to some degree, while two -- the Small Business Administration and the National Science Foundation -- didn't meet any of the guidance.

I am so glad to see federal agencies care so much about your or my personal information.

OMB reissued the guidance two years ago in the wake of the many data breaches then occurring throughout government, but especially those that happened at the Veterans Affairs Department.