Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA)

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 1 of 8

PRIVACY THRESHOLD ANALYSIS (PTA)
This form is used to determine whether
a Privacy Impact Assessment is required.

Please use the attached form to determine whether a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is required under
the E-Government Act of 2002 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Please complete this form and send it to your component Privacy Office. If you do not have a component
Privacy Office, please send the PTA to the DHS Privacy Office:
Senior Director, Privacy Compliance
The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Tel: 202-343-1717
PIA@hq.dhs.gov

Upon receipt from your component Privacy Office, the DHS Privacy Office will review this form. If a
PIA is required, the DHS Privacy Office will send you a copy of the Official Privacy Impact Assessment
Guide and accompanying Template to complete and return.
A copy of the Guide and Template is available on the DHS Privacy Office website,
www.dhs.gov/privacy, on DHSConnect and directly from the DHS Privacy Office via email:
pia@hq.dhs.gov, phone: 202-343-1717.

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 2 of 8

PRIVACY THRESHOLD ANALYSIS (PTA)
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Project or
Program Name:

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) – Memorandum of
Agreements

Component:

Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)

Office or
Program:

Protection and National
Preparedness (PNP)/
National Continuity
Programs (NCP)/IPAWS

Xacta FISMA
Name (if
applicable):

N/A

Xacta FISMA
Number (if
applicable):

N/A

Type of Project or
Program:

Form or other Information
Collection

Project or
program
status:

Operational

Date first
developed:
Date of last PTA
update

January 17, 2012

Pilot launch
date:

Click here to enter a date.

N/A

Pilot end date:

Click here to enter a date.

ATO Status (if
applicable)

Not started

ATO
expiration date
(if applicable):

Click here to enter a date.

PROJECT OR PROGRAM MANAGER
Name:

Antwane Johnson

Office:

PNP/NCP/IPAWS

Title:

Division Director

Phone:

202-646-4383

Email:

Antwane.johnson@fema.dhs.
gov

INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY OFFICER (ISSO) (IF APPLICABLE)
Name:

N/A

Phone:

N/A

Email:

N/A

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 3 of 8

SPECIFIC PTA QUESTIONS
1. Reason for submitting the PTA: New PTA
During an emergency, alert and warning officials need to provide the public with life-saving information
quickly. FEMA’s Protection and National Preparedness (PNP), National Continuity Programs (NCP)
owns and operates Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a modernization and
integration of the nation’s alert and warning infrastructure that saves time when time matters most in
protecting life and property. Federal, state, local, tribal and territorial alerting authorities can now use
IPAWS and integrate local systems that use Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standards with the IPAWS
infrastructure. IPAWS provides public safety officials with an effective way to alert and warn the public
about serious emergencies using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA),
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio, and other public alerting
systems from a single interface.
A federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local alerting authority that applies for authorization to use IPAWS is
designated as a Collaborative Operating Group (COG) by the IPAWS Program Management Office
(PMO). To become a COG, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) governing system security must be
executed between the sponsoring organization and FEMA.
Once, FEMA receives the hard copy IPAWS application, it is scanned into an electronic format on
FEMA’s common drive, which is a FEMA controlled network server, and is restricted to select FEMA
IPAWS employees with an official need to know. The paper forms are then disposed of in the designated
secured shred bins. The applicable and necessary information is then transferred into the IPAWS user
database, which is also hosted on a FEMA controlled server. Access to the database is controlled by
requiring user credentials, i.e. username and password. In addition, the user information in the IPAWS
database is retrieved by the COG name. The COG name consists of the state abbreviation and name of the
agency (ex. NY New York City Office of Emergency Management).
Access to IPAWS is free; however, to send a message using IPAWS, an organization must procure its
own IPAWS compatible software. A COG cannot sign into IPAWS, as there are no user accounts for
Federal, state, territory, tribal, local government agencies. However, a COG sends a file that is digitally
signed using a digital certificate that FEMA issues to the COG. The digital certificate is installed in the
COG’s alerting software, which has a three year expiration. A user sends an alert to IPAWS via his user
profile of the “Alert Tool” they have purchased for the alerting process (profiles are unique to the user
and the product they have procured).
2. Does this system employ any of the
following technologies:
If you are using any of these technologies and
want coverage under the respective PIA for that
technology please stop here and contact the DHS
Privacy Office for further guidance.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Social Media

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 4 of 8

Web portal 1 (e.g., SharePoint)
Contact Lists
None of these

3. From whom does the Project or
Program collect, maintain, use, or
disseminate information?
Please check all that apply.

This program does not collect any personally
identifiable information 2
Members of the public
DHS employees/contractors (list components):
Contractors working on behalf of DHS
Employees of other federal agencies

4. What specific information about individuals is collected, generated or retained?
•

Name, title, and contact information of individual who signs the MOA (on behalf of sponsoring
organization). Contact information includes work email address, phone number, and physical
address.

•

Name, title, and contact information of Authorized Alerting Authority’s Primary Point of Contact
(POC), Alternate POC, and Technical POC. Contact information includes work email address,
phone number, and physical address.

•

Name, title, and contact information of System Vendor/Developer for each Third-Party
Interoperable Software System. Contact information includes work email address and phone
number.

.
4(a) Does the project, program, or system
retrieve information by personal identifier?
4(b) Does the project, program, or system
use Social Security Numbers (SSN)?

1

No. Please continue to next question.
Yes. If yes, please list all personal identifiers
used:
No.
Yes.

Informational and collaboration-based portals in operation at DHS and its components that collect, use, maintain, and share
limited personally identifiable information (PII) about individuals who are “members” of the portal or “potential members” who
seek to gain access to the portal.
2
DHS defines personal information as “Personally Identifiable Information” or PII, which is any information that permits the
identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information that is linked or linkable to that individual,
regardless of whether the individual is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, visitor to the U.S., or employee or contractor to
the Department. “Sensitive PII” is PII, which if lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial
harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual. For the purposes of this PTA, SPII and PII are treated the
same.

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 5 of 8

4(c) If yes, please provide the specific legal
basis and purpose for the collection of
SSNs:
4(d) If yes, please describe the uses of the
SSNs within the project, program, or
system:
4(e) If this project, program, or system is
an information technology/system, does it
relate solely to infrastructure?

N/A

N/A

No. Please continue to next question.
Yes. If a log kept of communication traffic,
please answer the following question.

For example, is the system a Local Area Network
(LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN)?
4(f) If header or payload data 3 is stored in the communication traffic log, please detail the data
elements stored.
N/A
5. Does this project, program, or system
connect, receive, or share PII with any
other DHS programs or systems 4?
6. Does this project, program, or system
connect, receive, or share PII with any
external (non-DHS) partners or
systems?

No.
Yes. If yes, please list: Click here to enter text.
No.
Yes. If yes, please list:
N/A

6(a) Is this external sharing pursuant to
new or existing information sharing
access agreement (MOU, MOA, LOI,
etc.)?
7. Does the project, program, or system
provide role-based training for
personnel who have access in addition
to annual privacy training required of
all DHS personnel?
8. Per NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, Appendix
J, does the project, program, or system
maintain an accounting of disclosures

Choose an item.

Please describe applicable information sharing
governance in place: N/A
No.
Yes. If yes, please list:

No. What steps will be taken to develop and
maintain the accounting:

3
When data is sent over the Internet, each unit transmitted includes both header information and the actual data being sent. The
header identifies the source and destination of the packet, while the actual data is referred to as the payload. Because header
information, or overhead data, is only used in the transmission process, it is stripped from the packet when it reaches its destination.
Therefore, the payload is the only data received by the destination system.
4
PII may be shared, received, or connected to other DHS systems directly, automatically, or by manual processes. Often, these
systems are listed as “interconnected systems” in Xacta.

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 6 of 8

of PII to individuals who have
requested access to their PII?
9. Is there a FIPS 199 determination? 4

Yes. In what format is the accounting
maintained:
Unknown.
No.
Yes. Please indicate the determinations for each
of the following:
Confidentiality:
Low
Moderate

High

Undefined

Integrity:
Low

Moderate

High

Undefined

Availability:
Low
Moderate

High

Undefined

PRIVACY THRESHOLD REVIEW
(TO BE COMPLETED BY COMPONENT PRIVACY OFFICE)
Component Privacy Office Reviewer:

LaKia Samuel

Date submitted to Component Privacy
Office:

March 5, 2015

Date submitted to DHS Privacy Office:

July 28, 2015

Component Privacy Office Recommendation:
Please include recommendation below, including what new privacy compliance documentation is needed.
IPAWS provides public safety officials with an effective platform to alert and warn the public about
serious emergencies using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio, and other public alerting
systems from a single interface.
The Web-Portals PIA provides coverage for IPAWS for the purposes of facilitating collaborative
activities within the Department that requires contact with the public as well as partners in other federal,
state, local, and international governmental organizations or partners. This encompasses a wide variety of
activities, to include emergency response. The GITAARS SORN covers the categories of individuals and
the retrieveability of data categories for the purpose associated with the uses of the IPAWS
infrastructure/collection.
4

FIPS 199 is the Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal
Information and Information Systems and is used to establish security categories of information systems.

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 7 of 8

(TO BE COMPLETED BY THE DHS PRIVACY OFFICE)
DHS Privacy Office Reviewer:

Eric M. Leckey

PCTS Workflow Number:

1099455

Date approved by DHS Privacy Office:

August 7, 2015

PTA Expiration Date

August 7, 2018
DESIGNATION

Privacy Sensitive System:
Category of System:
Determination:

Yes

If “no” PTA adjudication is complete.

Form/Information Collection
If “other” is selected, please describe: Click here to enter text.
PTA sufficient at this time.
Privacy compliance documentation determination in progress.
New information sharing arrangement is required.
DHS Policy for Computer-Readable Extracts Containing Sensitive PII
applies.
Privacy Act Statement required.
Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) required.
System of Records Notice (SORN) required.
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Clearance may be required. Contact
your component PRA Officer.
A Records Schedule may be required. Contact your component Records
Officer.

PIA:

System covered by existing PIA
If covered by existing PIA, please list: DHS/ALL/PIA-015 - DHS Web Portals
System covered by existing SORN

If covered by existing SORN, please list: DHS/ALL-004 - General Information
Technology Access Account Records System (GITAARS) September 29, 2009, 74 FR
49882
DHS Privacy Office Comments:
Please describe rationale for privacy compliance determination above.
The purpose of this PTA is to review the system, annotate the review, and determine privacy compliance
coverage. IPAWS provides public safety officials with an effective platform to alert and warn the public
about serious emergencies using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA),
SORN:

Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
202-343-1717, pia@dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version number: 01-2014
Page 8 of 8

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio, and other public alerting
systems from a single interface. Privacy compliance coverage for IPAWS is provided by:
•

Web-Portals PIA which provides coverage for the purposes of facilitating collaborative activities
within the Department that requires contact with the public as well as partners in other federal,
state, local, and international governmental organizations or partners, which encompass a wide
variety of activities, to include emergency response.

•

GITAARS SORN which covers the categories of individuals and the retrieveability of data
categories for the purpose associated with the uses of the IPAWS infrastructure/collection.