Sponsored by the CIO Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, an organization dedicated to IT education and research, the survey asked adults to indicate their confidence, as it relates to protecting privacy, regarding 60 different government agencies. From the Postal Service to the Department of Homeland Security, thousands of Americans gave an honest assessment of how they believe the government is performing when it comes to keeping their personal information safe.
“The organizations that scored highly are those that have held the trust of the American public for many years”
"Since September 11, there has been much discussion about the possible invasion of our privacy by government in order to achieve greater security," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, founder of the Ponemon Institute and adjunct professor of ethics and privacy at the CIO Institute. "Our study seeks to determine if this discussion has influenced citizens' perceptions about how diligent the government is in protecting and respecting personal information."
Dr. Ponemon involved the CIO Institute because of the Institute's commitment to being a source of research and education for IT executives -- the professionals often charged with implementing information security and privacy policies.
"Data privacy should be a top priority for any organization, but government agencies have a greater responsibility to protect personal information because of the quantity collected, and the often sensitive nature of that information," Bill Ferguson, executive director of the CIO Institute said. "As a leading provider of education for federal IT executives, the CIO Institute sponsored the survey to raise awareness of the perceptions that exist, and to be a resource for organizations seeking to improve privacy practices."
The overall results of the survey showed that the majority of Americans surveyed - 83 percent -- consider privacy a matter that is important or very important to them. However, many respondents indicated they have a high level of uncertainty about the government agencies that collect and use that information, thus creating a negative impression of those organizations. The survey showed also that protecting personal information is important to people of all ages, education and income levels.
Despite the overall findings and public uncertainty, the survey found some government agencies are perceived by Americans as doing well; receiving very high Privacy Trust Score (PTS) ratings. One example is the U.S. Postal Service. The agency achieved the highest privacy trust rating -- 78 percent - and the lowest percentage of unsure responses. Other "trusted" agencies included the Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
"The organizations that scored highly are those that have held the trust of the American public for many years," Dr. Ponemon said. "When we spoke with some of the survey respondents, they indicated having the most confidence in the Postal Service because of their personal relationship with their mail carrier; that relationship translates into trust of the Postal Service overall."
Agencies that didn't enjoy high PTS ratings were those such as the Department of Justice, The CIA and the Office of the Attorney General, which all scored a PTS below 30 percent. Dr. Ponemon pointed out that a low score doesn't necessarily mean agencies are failing to protect consumer information.
"With most of the lower-scoring agencies, there were also a high number of unsure responses from those surveyed," Dr. Ponemon added. "This suggests that negative perceptions about an organization's privacy practices are driven more by uncertainty, than by knowledge of carelessness or lax policies. Our recommendation to those agencies would be to better communicate the policies they have in place to protect personal information."
With the need for more research and better education regarding privacy issues, the Ponemon Institute and CIO Institute plan to continue a partnership that studies privacy practices and advances the role of the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO). The CIO Institute plans to use the results of the survey in current and future courses dealing with privacy issues, and is considering launching a CPO certificate program some time in 2004.
"As we continue to see the need for privacy education and training, we will work with Dr. Ponemon to create valuable programs for executives dealing with these issues," Ferguson added.
Copies of the Government Privacy Trust Survey executive summary can be downloaded at the Ponemon Institute's web site at www.ponemon.org or at the CIO Institute's web site at http://cioi.web.cmu.edu.
About the CIO Institute
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is a leading source of research and continuing education for CIO's, CSO's, CPO's and senior executives from the public, private and non-profit sectors. The Institute provides concentrated professional education programs created by Carnegie Mellon's world class faculty and other top business leaders. The Institute offers certificate programs in a variety of subject areas and allows Federal CIO Certificate participants to earn credits toward select Carnegie Mellon master degrees. Enrollment information can be obtained at http://cioi.web.cmu.edu/ or by calling 412-268-4656.
About Ponemon Institute
The Ponemon Institute is a "think tank" dedicated to advancing responsible information management practices in business and government. To achieve this objective, Ponemon Institute conducts independent research to promote best practice, to educate leaders from the private and public sectors, and to verify the privacy and data protection practices of organization. The Institute is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. For more information, visit www.ponemon.org or contact us at (520) 290-3400, e-mail research@ponemon.org.
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