Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) Questions and Answers
When developing a company privacy program, which of the following relationships will most help a privacy professional develop useful guidance for the organization?
Who has rulemaking authority for the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)?
Which statement is FALSE regarding the provisions of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA)?
California’s SB 1386 was the first law of its type in the United States to do what?
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What type of legal choice does not notice provide?
Although an employer may have a strong incentive or legal obligation to monitor employees’ conduct or behavior, some excessive monitoring may be considered an intrusion on employees’ privacy? Which of the following is the strongest example of excessive monitoring by the employer?
A company’s employee wellness portal offers an app to track exercise activity via users’ mobile devices. Which of the following design techniques would most effectively inform users of their data privacy rights and privileges when using the app?
If an organization certified under Privacy Shield wants to transfer personal data to a third party acting as an agent, the organization must ensure the third party does all of the following EXCEPT?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Otto is preparing a report to his Board of Directors at Filtration Station, where he is responsible for the privacy program. Filtration Station is a U.S. company that sells filters and tubing products to pharmaceutical companies for research use. The company is based in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout the U.S. and Asia. It sells to business customers across both the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region. Filtration Station participates in the Cross-Border Privacy Rules system of the APEC Privacy Framework.
Unfortunately, Filtration Station suffered a data breach in the previous quarter. An unknown third party was able
to gain access to Filtration Station’s network and was able to steal data relating to employees in the company’s Human Resources database, which is hosted by a third-party cloud provider based in the U.S. The HR data is encrypted. Filtration Station also uses the third-party cloud provider to host its business marketing contact database. The marketing database was not affected by the data breach. It appears that the data breach was caused when a system administrator at the cloud provider stored the encryption keys with the data itself.
The Board has asked Otto to provide information about the data breach and how updates on new developments in privacy laws and regulations apply to Filtration Station. They are particularly concerned about staying up to date on the various U.S. state laws and regulations that have been in the news, especially the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and breach notification requirements.
The Board has asked Otto whether the company will need to comply with the new California Consumer Privacy Law (CCPA). What should Otto tell the Board?
In 2011, the FTC announced a settlement with Google regarding its social networking service Google Buzz. The FTC alleged that in the process of launching the service, the company did all of the following EXCEPT?
Which entity within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the primary enforcer of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) “Privacy Rule”?
John, a California resident, receives notification that a major corporation with $500 million in annual revenue has experienced a data breach. John’s personal information in their possession has been stolen, including his full name and social security numb. John also learns that the corporation did not have reasonable cybersecurity measures in place to safeguard his personal information.
Which of the following answers most accurately reflects John’s ability to pursue a legal claim against the corporation under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Otto is preparing a report to his Board of Directors at Filtration Station, where he is responsible for the privacy program. Filtration Station is a U.S. company that sells filters and tubing products to pharmaceutical companies for research use. The company is based in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout the U.S. and Asia. It sells to business customers across both the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region. Filtration Station participates in the Cross-Border Privacy Rules system of the APEC Privacy Framework.
Unfortunately, Filtration Station suffered a data breach in the previous quarter. An unknown third party was able to gain access to Filtration Station’s network and was able to steal data relating to employees in the company’s Human Resources database, which is hosted by a third-party cloud provider based in the U.S. The HR data is encrypted. Filtration Station also uses the third-party cloud provider to host its business marketing contact database. The marketing database was not affected by the data breach. It appears that the data breach was caused when a system administrator at the cloud provider stored the encryption keys with the data itself.
The Board has asked Otto to provide information about the data breach and how updates on new developments in privacy laws and regulations apply to Filtration Station. They are particularly concerned about staying up to date on the various U.S. state laws and regulations that have been in the news, especially the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and breach notification requirements.
What can Otto do to most effectively minimize the privacy risks involved in using a cloud provider for the HR data?
According to Section 5 of the FTC Act, self-regulation primarily involves a company’s right to do what?
Why was the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 drafted?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Matt went into his son’s bedroom one evening and found him stretched out on his bed typing on his laptop. “Doing your network?” Matt asked hopefully.
“No,” the boy said. “I’m filling out a survey.”
Matt looked over his son’s shoulder at his computer screen. “What kind of survey?” “It’s asking Questions about my opinions.”
“Let me see,” Matt said, and began reading the list of Questions that his son had already answered. “It’s asking your opinions about the government and citizenship. That’s a little odd. You’re only ten.”
Matt wondered how the web link to the survey had ended up in his son’s email inbox. Thinking the message might have been sent to his son by mistake he opened it and read it. It had come from an entity called the Leadership Project, and the content and the graphics indicated that it was intended for children. As Matt read further he learned that kids who took the survey were automatically registered in a contest to win the first book in a series about famous leaders.
To Matt, this clearly seemed like a marketing ploy to solicit goods and services to children. He asked his son if he had been prompted to give information about himself in order to take the survey. His son told him he had been asked to give his name, address, telephone number, and date of birth, and to answer Questions about his favorite games and toys.
Matt was concerned. He doubted if it was legal for the marketer to collect information from his son in the way that it was. Then he noticed several other commercial emails from marketers advertising products for children in his son’s inbox, and he decided it was time to report the incident to the proper authorities.
How could the marketer have best changed its privacy management program to meet COPPA “Safe Harbor” requirements?
Based on the 2012 Federal Trade Commission report “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change”, which of the following directives is most important for businesses?
All of the following are tasks in the “Discover” phase of building an information management program EXCEPT?
Which federal agency plays a role in privacy policy, but does NOT have regulatory authority?
What is the most important action an organization can take to comply with the FTC position on retroactive changes to a privacy policy?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Cheryl is the sole owner of Fitness Coach, Inc., a medium-sized company that helps individuals realize their physical fitness goals through classes, individual instruction, and access to an extensive indoor gym. She has owned the company for ten years and has always been concerned about protecting customer’s privacy while maintaining the highest level of service. She is proud that she has built long-lasting customer relationships.
Although Cheryl and her staff have tried to make privacy protection a priority, the company has no formal privacy policy. So Cheryl hired Janice, a privacy professional, to help her develop one.
After an initial assessment, Janice created a first of a new policy. Cheryl read through the draft and was concerned about the many changes the policy would bring throughout the company. For example, the draft policy stipulates that a customer’s personal information can only be held for one year after paying for a service such as a session with personal trainer. It also promises that customer information will not be shared with third parties without the written consent of the customer. The wording of these rules worry Cheryl since stored personal information often helps her company to serve her customers, even if there are long pauses between their visits. In addition, there are some third parties that provide crucial services, such as aerobics instructors who teach classes on a contract basis. Having access to customer files and understanding the fitness levels of their students helps instructors to organize their classes.
Janice understood Cheryl’s concerns and was already formulating some ideas for revision. She tried to put Cheryl at ease by pointing out that customer data can still be kept, but that it should be classified according to levels of sensitivity. However, Cheryl was skeptical. It seemed that classifying data and treating each type differently would cause undue difficulties in the company’s day-to-day operations. Cheryl wants one simple data storage and access system that any employee can access if needed.
Even though the privacy policy was only a draft, she was beginning to see that changes within her company were going to be necessary. She told Janice that she would be more comfortable with implementing the new policy gradually over a period of several months, one department at a time. She was also interested in a layered approach by creating documents listing applicable parts of the new policy for each department.
What is the best reason for Cheryl to follow Janice’s suggestion about classifying customer data?
What practice does the USA FREEDOM Act NOT authorize?
All of the following organizations are specified as covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) EXCEPT?
Which of the following is an important implication of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?
When may a financial institution share consumer information with non-affiliated third parties for marketing purposes?
The Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 restricted which of the following?
Smith Memorial Healthcare (SMH) is a hospital network headquartered in New York and operating in 7 other states. SMH uses an electronic medical record to enter and track information about its patients. Recently, SMH suffered a data breach where a third-party hacker was able to gain access to the SMH internal network.
Because it is a HIPPA-covered entity, SMH made a notification to the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about the breach.
Which statement accurately describes SMH’s notification responsibilities?
Which federal act does NOT contain provisions for preempting stricter state laws?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Felicia has spent much of her adult life overseas, and has just recently returned to the U.S. to help her friend Celeste open a jewelry store in California. Felicia, despite being excited at the prospect, has a number of security concerns, and has only grudgingly accepted the need to hire other employees. In order to guard against the loss of valuable merchandise, Felicia wants to carefully screen applicants. With their permission, Felicia would like to run credit checks, administer polygraph tests, and scrutinize videos of interviews. She intends to read applicants’ postings on social media, ask QUESTION NO:s about drug addiction, and solicit character references. Felicia believes that if potential employees are serious about becoming part of a dynamic new business, they will readily agree to these requirements.
Felicia is also in favor of strict employee oversight. In addition to protecting the inventory, she wants to prevent mistakes during transactions, which will require video monitoring. She also wants to regularly check the company vehicle’s GPS for locations visited by employees. She also believes that employees who use their own devices for work-related purposes should agree to a certain amount of supervision.
Given her high standards, Felicia is skeptical about the proposed location of the store. She has been told that many types of background checks are not allowed under California law. Her friend Celeste thinks these worries are unfounded, as long as applicants verbally agree to the checks and are offered access to the results. Nor does Celeste share Felicia’s concern about state breach notification laws, which, she claims, would be costly to implement even on a minor scale. Celeste believes that
even if the business grows a customer database of a few thousand, it’s unlikely that a state agency would hassle an honest business if an accidental security incident were to occur.
In any case, Celeste feels that all they need is common sense – like remembering to tear up sensitive documents before throwing them in the recycling bin. Felicia hopes that she’s right, and that all of her concerns will be put to rest next month when their new business consultant (who is also a privacy professional) arrives from North Carolina.
Which law will be most relevant to Felicia’s plan to ask applicants about drug addiction?
When designing contact tracing apps in relation to COVID-19 or any other diagnosed virus, all of the following privacy measures should be considered EXCEPT?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Larry has become increasingly dissatisfied with his telemarketing position at SunriseLynx, and particularly with his supervisor, Evan. Just last week, he overheard Evan mocking the state’s Do Not Call list, as well as the people on it. “If they were really serious about not being bothered,” Evan said, “They’d be on the national DNC list. That’s the only one we’re required to follow. At SunriseLynx, we call until they ask us not to.”
Bizarrely, Evan requires telemarketers to keep records of recipients who ask them to call “another time.” This, to Larry, is a clear indication that they don’t want to be called at all. Evan doesn’t see it that way.
Larry believes that Evan’s arrogance also affects the way he treats employees. The U.S. Constitution protects American workers, and Larry believes that the rights of those at SunriseLynx are violated regularly. At first Evan seemed friendly, even connecting with employees on social media. However, following Evan’s political posts, it became clear to Larry that employees with similar affiliations were the only ones offered promotions.
Further, Larry occasionally has packages containing personal-use items mailed to work. Several times, these have come to him already opened, even though this name was clearly marked. Larry thinks the opening of personal mail is common at SunriseLynx, and that Fourth Amendment rights are being trampled under Evan’s leadership.
Larry has also been dismayed to overhear discussions about his coworker, Sadie. Telemarketing calls are regularly recorded for quality assurance, and although Sadie is always professional during business, her personal conversations sometimes contain sexual comments. This too is something Larry has heard Evan laughing about. When he mentioned this to a coworker, his concern was met with a shrug. It was the coworker’s belief that employees agreed to be monitored when they signed on. Although personal devices are left alone, phone calls, emails and browsing histories are all subject to surveillance. In fact, Larry knows of one case in which an employee was fired after an undercover investigation by an outside firm turned up evidence of misconduct. Although the employee may have stolen from the company, Evan could have simply contacted the authorities when he first suspected something amiss.
Larry wants to take action, but is uncertain how to proceed.
Which act would authorize Evan’s undercover investigation?
A covered entity suffers a ransomware attack that affects the personal health information (PHI) of more than 500 individuals. According to Federal law under HIPAA, which of the following would the covered entity NOT have to report the breach to?
Under the Telemarketing Sales Rule, what characteristics of consent must be in place for an organization to acquire an exception to the Do-Not-Call rules for a particular consumer?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
A US-based startup company is selling a new gaming application. One day, the CEO of the company receives an urgent letter from a prominent EU-based retail partner. Triggered by an unresolved complaint lodged by an EU resident, the letter describes an ongoing investigation by a supervisory authority into the retailer’s data handling practices.
The complainant accuses the retailer of improperly disclosing her personal data, without consent, to parties in the United States. Further, the complainant accuses the EU-based retailer of failing to respond to her withdrawal of consent and request for erasure of her personal data. Your organization, the US-based startup company, was never informed of this request for erasure by the EU-based retail partner. The supervisory authority investigating the complaint has threatened the suspension of data flows if the parties involved do not cooperate with the investigation. The letter closes with an urgent request: “Please act immediately by identifying all personal data received from our company.”
This is an important partnership. Company executives know that its biggest fans come from Western Europe; and this retailer is primarily responsible for the startup’s rapid market penetration.
As the Company’s data privacy leader, you are sensitive to the criticality of the relationship with the retailer.
At this stage of the investigation, what should the data privacy leader review first?
In 2012, the White House and the FTC both issued reports advocating a new approach to privacy enforcement that can best be described as what?
In which situation is a company operating under the assumption of implied consent?
Which of the following conditions would NOT be sufficient to excuse an entity from providing breach notification under state law?
What is the main purpose of requiring marketers to use the Wireless Domain Registry?
A law enforcement subpoenas the ACME telecommunications company for access to text message records of a person suspected of planning a terrorist attack. The company had previously encrypted its text message records so that only the suspect could access this data.
What law did ACME violate by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency?
Federal laws establish which of the following requirements for collecting personal information of minors under the age of 13?
Which of the following best describes private-sector workplace monitoring in the United States?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION
Felicia has spent much of her adult life overseas, and has just recently returned to the U.S. to help her friend Celeste open a jewelry store in California. Felicia, despite being excited at the prospect, has a number of security concerns, and has only grudgingly accepted the need tohire other employees. In order to guard against the loss of valuable merchandise, Felicia wants to carefully screen applicants. With their permission, Felicia would like to run credit checks, administer polygraph tests, and scrutinize videos of interviews. She intends to read applicants’ postings on social media, ask QUESTION NO:s about drug addiction, and solicit character references. Felicia believes that if potential employees are serious about becoming part of a dynamic new business, they will readily agree to these requirements.
Felicia is also in favor of strict employee oversight. In addition to protecting the inventory, she wants to prevent mistakes during transactions, which will require video monitoring. She also wants to regularly check the company vehicle’s GPS for locations visited by employees. She also believes that employees who use their own devices for work-related purposes should agree to a certain amount of supervision.
Given her high standards, Felicia is skeptical about the proposed location of the store. She has been told that many types of background checks are not allowed under California law. Her friend Celeste thinks these worries are unfounded, as long as applicants verbally agree to the checks and are offered access to the results. Nor does Celeste share Felicia’s concern about state breach notification laws, which, she claims, would be costly to implement even on a minor scale. Celeste believes that
even if the business grows a customer database of a few thousand, it’s unlikely that a state agency would hassle an honest business if an accidental security incident were to occur.
In any case, Celeste feels that all they need is common sense – like remembering to tear up sensitive documents before throwing them in the recycling bin. Felicia hopes that she’s right, and that all of her concerns will be put to rest next month when their new business consultant (who is also a privacy professional) arrives from North Carolina.
Regarding credit checks of potential employees, Celeste has a misconception regarding what?
Which of the following best describes how federal anti-discrimination laws protect the privacy of private-sector employees in the United States?
Which of the following practices is NOT a key component of a data ethics framework?
According to FERPA, when can a school disclose records without a student’s consent?
What privacy concept grants a consumer the right to view and correct errors on his or her credit report?
Chanel Hair Studio is a busy high-end hair salon. In an effort to maximize efficiency of its operations and reduce wait times for appointments, Chanel decides to implement artificial intelligence software that will use client profiles and history to predict which clients will likely be late for their appointments. Information used to create the client profile included appointment history, distance from the salon, and any references to being tardy pulled from the client’s social media accounts. If a client is predicted to be late, their appointment will be cancelled within 5 minutes.
Based on the details, what is the biggest potential privacy concern related to Chanel’s use of this new software?
What is the most likely reason that states have adopted their own data breach notification laws?
SCENARIO
Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:
Matt went into his son’s bedroom one evening and found him stretched out on his bed typing on his laptop. “Doing your network?” Matt asked hopefully.
“No,” the boy said. “I’m filling out a survey.”
Matt looked over his son’s shoulder at his computer screen. “What kind of survey?” “It’s asking Questions about my opinions.”
“Let me see,” Matt said, and began reading the list of Questions that his son had already answered. “It’s asking your opinions about the government and citizenship. That’s a little odd. You’re only ten.”
Matt wondered how the web link to the survey had ended up in his son’s email inbox. Thinking the message might have been sent to his son by mistake he opened it and read it. It had come from an entity called the Leadership Project, and the content and the graphics indicated that it was intended for children. As Matt read further he learned that kids who took the survey were automatically registered in a contest to win the first book in a series about famous leaders.
To Matt, this clearly seemed like a marketing ploy to solicit goods and services to children. He asked his son if he had been prompted to give information about himself in order to take the survey. His son told him he had been asked to give his name, address, telephone number, and date of birth, and to answer Questions about his favorite games and toys.
Matt was concerned. He doubted if it was legal for the marketer to collect information from his son in the way that it was. Then he noticed several other commercial emails from marketers advertising products for children in his son’s inbox, and he decided it was time to report the incident to the proper authorities.
Based on the incident, the FTC’s enforcement actions against the marketer would most likely include what violation?
What is an exception to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 ban on interception of wire, oral and electronic communications?