Personally identifiable information (PII) is any data that can be used to identify or contact a specific individual, whether on its own or when combined with other information. PII includes identifiers like full name, social security number, driver's license number, passport number, and a person's biometric data, along with information like date of birth, address, phone number, email address, and account numbers. PII is highly sought by fraudsters for identity theft purposes, and its protection is mandated by well-known regulations like CCPA and GDPR, as well as other industry-specific and region-specific requirements.
Use case/ examples for PII (personally identifiable information)
Data protection: Implementing encryption, access controls, and data minimization practices throughout an organization to protect personally identifiable information from unauthorized access, theft, or exposure.
Regulatory compliance: Meeting data protection requirements under regulations like GDPR and CCPA by establishing policies for PII notification, collection, storage, access, and disposal that align with these legal and regulatory obligations.
Breach response: Developing incident response procedures that make it possible to detect, immediately contain, and remediate PII breaches, including notification protocols to inform affected individuals and regulatory authorities as required.