NASCIO Joins a Nationwide Global Effort to Support Data Privacy Day by Signing On as a Champion

LEXINGTON, Ky., Thursday, January 28, 2016 — Today the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced that it is a committed Champion of Data Privacy Day (DPD) ‒ an international effort held annually on January 28 to create awareness about the importance of privacy and protecting personal information. As a DPD Champion, NASCIO recognizes and supports the principle that organizations, businesses and government all share the responsibility of being conscientious stewards of personal information by respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. 

Data Privacy Day is part of a greater effort, the #PrivacyAware campaign, which helps consumers understand how they can own their online presence and reminds businesses that privacy is indeed good for business. NASCIO joins the growing global effort among organizations, corporations, educational institutions, government entities, municipalities and individuals to raise awareness at home, at work and in their communities. Through collaboration and unified, consistent messaging about data privacy, all DPD Champions will work toward the common goal of improving consumer and business consciousness while encouraging and empowering all digital citizens to be #PrivacyAware.

“For states, data privacy is a growing priority as more and more digital data on citizens is collected, shared, stored and analyzed. NASCIO is happy to be a Data Privacy Day Champion again this year and we look forward to focusing more on this issue in the coming year,” stated NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson.

In addition to becoming a DPD Champion, NASCIO has formed a new Privacy and Data Protection Working Group which will highlight privacy issues of importance to state CIOs. The working group is a subcommittee of the NASCIO Cybersecurity Committee. The new working group will have monthly calls on various topics related to privacy and data protection.

DPD and the #PrivacyAware campaign are spearheaded by the National Cyber Security Alliance, a nonprofit, public-private partnership dedicated to promoting a safer, more secure and more trusted Internet. For more information about how to get involved in DPD and the Champions program visit https://www.staysafeonline.org/dpd. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter at @DataPrivacyDay or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DataPrivacyNCSA and use the official hashtag #PrivacyAware to join the conversation.