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Privacy Impact Assessment Form
v 1.47.4
Status Draft

Form Number

F-44232

Form Date

Question

Answer

1

OPDIV:

CDC

2

PIA Unique Identifier:

P-4137049-320366

2a Name:

11/19/2020 8:51:04 AM

Data Collation and Integration for Public Health Event
Responses (DCIPHER)
General Support System (GSS)
Major Application

3

Minor Application (stand-alone)

The subject of this PIA is which of the following?

Minor Application (child)
Electronic Information Collection
Unknown

3a

Identify the Enterprise Performance Lifecycle Phase
of the system.

Operations and Maintenance
Yes

3b Is this a FISMA-Reportable system?

4

Does the system include a Website or online
application available to and for the use of the general
public?

5

Identify the operator.

6

Point of Contact (POC):

No
Yes
No
Agency
Contractor

POC Title

Laboratory Information
Management System (LIMS)
Scientific Advisor and
Coordinator

POC Name

Stephen Soroka

POC Organization NCEZID/OD

7

Is this a new or existing system?

8

Does the system have Security Authorization (SA)?

POC Email

znk0@cdc.gov

POC Phone

404-639-0417
New
Existing
Yes
No

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8b Planned Date of Security Authorization

January 29, 2021
Not Applicable

11 Describe the purpose of the system.

Data Collation and Integration for Public Health Event
Responses (DCIPHER) will collect, integrate, manage, analyze,
visualize and share traditional and non-traditional data sets
used to support the management of all-hazards public health
event responses, surveillance, research, statistical, and other
public health activities. The ability to electronically integrate
and link data from multiple sources is repeatedly identified as a
critical gap in preparedness exercises and a common theme
identified across Response After Action Reports. DCIPHER
addresses this gap.
The system collects, maintains and stores diverse types of data
including epidemiological case data, laboratory test orders/
results, outbreak and environmental investigations and any
related supporting data, contact tracing, molecular data,
population-based health information, and publicly accessible
datasets.

Describe the type of information the system will
collect, maintain (store), or share. (Subsequent
Specific information collected consists of name, email, mailing
12
questions will identify if this information is PII and ask address, telephone number, medical notes, date of birth,
about the specific data elements.)
medical records number, employment status, HHS User ID,
passport number, statistical analysis, and research information
of public health events.
All users authenticate via CDC's Digital Support Office - Secure
Access Management System (SAMS). SAMS is a separate
system with its own PIA.

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DCIPHER is a web-based data integration and management
platform for use across CDC programs to 1-collate, 2-link, 3manage, 4-analyze, 5-visualize, and 6-share data from multiple
sources to facilitate data interpretation and to inform public
health decisions. It collects, stores, and shares (as needed)
epidemiological, surveillance, laboratory, environmental,
personal identity, logistics, emergency response, population
health, and general statistical information. It also manages a
repository of historic surveillance, outbreak, emergency event
response and other collected data.

Provide an overview of the system and describe the
13 information it will collect, maintain (store), or share,
either permanently or temporarily.

DCIPHER collects, maintains and stores diverse types of data
including epidemiological case data, laboratory test orders/
results, outbreak and environmental investigations and any
related supporting data, contact tracing, molecular data,
population-based health information, and publicly accessible
datasets. Specifically, the system maintains patient
demographic information with name, email, mailing address,
telephone number, medical notes, date of birth, medical
records number, employment status, and passport number.
Currently, information is primarily used in support of COVID19
pandemic activity along with other emergency and routine
surveillance, statistical analysis, and research information for
public health events.
Data maintained in this platform is used to support and
manage routine public health activities (e.g., surveillance,
statistical analysis, research, etc.) and emergency event
responses (e.g., outbreaks, disasters, etc.). Data will be further
used to describe relationships and trends between population
health and various health conditions and/or risk factors, as well
as to inform public health event response decisions and
management. Analysis and visualizations will be included in
various reports, presentations, dashboards, and websites. HHS
User ID is used to identify the CDC employee accessing the
data collections.
A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by CDC
programs that want to use DCIPHER that outlines programlevel responsibilities, including the use and treatment of PII,
the adherence to records retention policies and procedures
and OMB/Paperwork Reduction responsibilities.
All users authenticate via CDC's Digital Support Office - Secure
Access Management System (SAMS). SAMS is a separate
system with its own PIA.

14 Does the system collect, maintain, use or share PII?

Yes
No

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15

Indicate the type of PII that the system will collect or
maintain.

Social Security Number

Date of Birth

Name

Photographic Identifiers

Driver's License Number

Biometric Identifiers

Mother's Maiden Name

Vehicle Identifiers

E-Mail Address

Mailing Address

Phone Numbers

Medical Records Number

Medical Notes

Financial Account Info

Certificates

Legal Documents

Education Records

Device Identifiers

Military Status

Employment Status

Foreign Activities

Passport Number

Taxpayer ID
User ID

Employees
Public Citizens
16

Business Partners/Contacts (Federal, state, local agencies)

Indicate the categories of individuals about whom PII
is collected, maintained or shared.

Vendors/Suppliers/Contractors
Patients
Other

17 How many individuals' PII is in the system?
18 For what primary purpose is the PII used?

1,000,000 or more
PII will be used to support and manage public health event
responses and routine public health activities.
PII will also be used to support research projects as authorized/
initiated by the respective programs that own the data.

19

Describe the secondary uses for which the PII will be
used (e.g. testing, training or research)

HHS User Credential: To identify the CDC employee accessing
collection of data.
Physicians enrolled in the program use PII for quality
assurance, research and to support determinations related to
drug administration.

20 Describe the function of the SSN.

Not Applicable. SSNs are not collected.

20a Cite the legal authority to use the SSN.

N/A

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Public Health Service Act, Section 301, "Research and
Investigation," (42 U.S.C. 241); sections 304, 306, and 308(d),
Identify legal authorities governing information use authority to grant assurances of confidentiality for health
21
and disclosure specific to the system and program.
research and related activities (42 U.S.C. 242 b, k, and m(d));
and section 361, "Quarantine and Inspection, Control of
Communicable Diseases,` (42 U.S.C. 264).
22

Yes

Are records on the system retrieved by one or more
PII data elements?

Identify the number and title of the Privacy Act
System of Records Notice (SORN) that is being used
22a
to cover the system or identify if a SORN is being
developed.

No
Published:

09-90-2001 Records Used for Surveillance and
Study of Epidemics, Preventable Diseases and
Problems

Published:

09-20-0136 Epidemiologic Studies and
Surveillance of Disease Problems

Published:

09-20-0106- Specimen Handling for Testing and
Related Data;
09-20-0171: Quarantine and Traveler Related
In Progress

Directly from an individual about whom the
information pertains
In-Person
Hard Copy: Mail/Fax
Email
Online
Other
Government Sources
23

Within the OPDIV
Other HHS OPDIV
State/Local/Tribal
Foreign
Other Federal Entities
Other

Identify the sources of PII in the system.

Non-Government Sources
Members of the Public
Commercial Data Broker
Public Media/Internet
Private Sector
Other

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23a

Identify the OMB information collection approval
number and expiration date.

As it relates to COVID-19 information collections, the following
applies: Pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service
(PHS) Act, 42 U.S.C. 247d, Secretary Alex M. Azar, II determined
that, as the result of the confirmed cases of 2019 Novel
Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), now known as Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19), a public health emergency (PHE) has existed
nationwide since January 27, 2020. As a result of the PHE, the
Secretary also determined pursuant to section 319(f) of the
PHS Act that circumstances of the PHE necessitate a waiver
from the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44
U.S.C. § 3501 et seq., effective as of the date of this notice. The
waiver is justified to collect information to support the
Department of Health and Human Services’ investigation of
and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This waiver applies
to information to be collected by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention from individuals, healthcare providers,
states, and other partners in order to a facilitate rapid response
to the PHE.
Overall and for information collections other than those
related to COVID-19, each participating program signs a
Program Engagement Agreement with DCIPHER that
delegates responsibility to the participating program for
designing its own data collection tools and obtaining OMB
approval, if required. For example, the Division of STD
Prevention has their own OMB compliance procedures and
obtained collection approvals on their own for the Enhanced
STD Surveillance Network (SSuN), (OMB Control No. 0920-1072
Exp. 09/30/2021)—Revision—National Center for HIV/AIDS,
Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Gonococcal Isolate
Surveillance Project (GISP) (OMB control 0920-0307 exp
08/31/2021) data collection tools.
Yes

24 Is the PII shared with other organizations?

No
Within HHS
Other Federal
Agency/Agencies
State or Local
Agency/Agencies

24a

Identify with whom the PII is shared or disclosed and
for what purpose.

To support and manage public health event responses and
routine public health activities at the state/local/tribal level.
CDC programs have the ability to both receive and share PII
data from/with their state/local/territorial/tribal counterparts
and it is up to each CDC program to decide when receiving
and/or sharing PII is needed.
Private Sector

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DCIPHER has Data Use Agreements (DUA) in place for all direct
system to system connections. The DUA defines how the data
will be accessed, the direction(s) of the data flow, whether PII
Describe any agreements in place that authorizes the will be shared, and the process for new users to access the data
information sharing or disclosure (e.g. Computer
in DCIPHER, which are all defined by the participating program
24b Matching Agreement, Memorandum of
(for example, some programs want the new user approving
Understanding (MOU), or Information Sharing
point of contact to be listed in the DUA; others do not). These
Agreement (ISA)).
agreements collectively place responsibility with the program
to manage their own data, and share appropriately with states
and locals based on the policies, procedures, and agreements
in place within the participating program.

24c

Describe the procedures for accounting for
disclosures

Describe the process in place to notify individuals
25 that their personal information will be collected. If
no prior notice is given, explain the reason.

26

Is the submission of PII by individuals voluntary or
mandatory?

The DCIPHER Business Steward defers to the participating
program to confirm and process information disclosure
requests. DCIPHER accepts approved requests as provided by
the program and releases the data through the participating
program for appropriate distribution. DCIPHER will only
release information as directed by the participating program.
The processes in place will vary by program and use and it is
up to each program to utilize its own existing processes to
notify individuals that their personal information will be
collected or not. This program responsibility is written into the
DCIPHER Program Engagement Agreement that each program
lead signs as part of the on-boarding process for DCIPHER
which identifies the participating program as responsible (and
not DCIPHER) for any and all privacy related requirements with
respect to their data. Based on the method of data collection,
this responsibility will lie with either the CDC program or with
the states contributing data to the CDC program, but this
determination of responsibility is made outside the scope of
DCIPHER.
Voluntary
Mandatory

The methods will vary by program and use and it is up to each
program to provide an opt-out method (or not) for the
collection or use of their PII. This program responsibility is
written into the DCIPHER Program Engagement Agreement
Describe the method for individuals to opt-out of the that each program lead signs as part of the on-boarding
collection or use of their PII. If there is no option to
process for DCIPHER which identifies the participating
27
object to the information collection, provide a
program as responsible (and not DCIPHER) for any and all
reason.
privacy related requirements with respect to their data. Based
on the method of data collection, this responsibility will lie
with either the CDC program or with the states contributing
data to the CDC program, but this determination of
responsibility is made outside the scope of DCIPHER.

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If a CDC program is initiating a data collection that includes PII
then the consent responsibility rests with that CDC program.
Similarly, if PII data are collected by State/Local/Territorial/
Tribal Public Health Departments and are submitted to CDC in
Describe the process to notify and obtain consent
support of public health surveillance, investigation, and
from the individuals whose PII is in the system when response activities, then responsibility for obtaining consent
major changes occur to the system (e.g., disclosure
(or determining that consent is unneeded) rests with the State/
28 and/or data uses have changed since the notice at
Local/Territorial/Tribal jurisdiction In the event a major system
the time of original collection). Alternatively, describe change significantly alters the disclosure and/or use of PII
why they cannot be notified or have their consent
maintained in the system, DCIPHER will provide written notice
obtained.
to the participating CDC programs and external partners, with
whom we exchange data and maintain PEAs and/or DUAs, of
the change so they can take appropriate action to notify their
program partners, such as states, and obtain consent from the
affected individuals.
Describe the process in place to resolve an
individual's concerns when they believe their PII has
29 been inappropriately obtained, used, or disclosed, or
that the PII is inaccurate. If no process exists, explain
why not.

To report and resolve concerns, individuals can contact the
POC listed in this form, who will notify the relevant program
lead. The correspondence should reasonably identify the
record and specify the information being contested, the
corrective action sought, and the reasons for requesting the
correction, along with supporting information to show how
the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

Describe the process in place for periodic reviews of
PII contained in the system to ensure the data's
30
integrity, availability, accuracy and relevancy. If no
processes are in place, explain why not.

DCIPHER provides participating CDC programs and external
partners with an interface to review all data and PII and
programs/external partners can conduct their own reviews as
needed or as consistent with their existing policies. This
program responsibility, including the reminder that the
program is responsible for these periodic audits, is written into
the DCIPHER Program Engagement Agreement, signed by the
participating programs, as a responsibility delegated to the
participating programs and is further codified in the Data Use
Agreement that each program lead signs as part of the onboarding process for DCIPHER.
Users

Administrators

Identify who will have access to the PII in the system
31
and the reason why they require access.

Developers

Contractors

Others

Program users will need access to the
PII in their specific data sources in
order to carry out their regular job
duties.
Administrators will need to assist in
mapping incoming data into the
platform.
Developers will need to appropriately
map incoming data into the platform,
perform validation checks, build
ontology.
Direct Contractors are used on this
project for design, development,
configuration, customization and
maintenance.
State/local/tribal users who are owners
of PII will need to access their data in
order to carry out their regular job
duties.

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The Business Steward is limiting access to the smallest possible
number of people necessary to access PII data for conducting
official responsibilities through specific Role-based
requirements. If the individual's manager determines that
access to the system is required for the individual to perform
their regular duties, they will make a request to the system
administrator who will establish an account for the user to
access the system. Access to PII is strictly enforce by setting up
user profile on the Principle of Least Privilege and a Need To
Know standard. Individuals can only see selected functions and
Describe the procedures in place to determine which information that are necessary for its valid purpose based on
32 system users (administrators, developers,
their user profile.
contractors, etc.) may access PII.
System Administrators in coordination with the Business
Steward will assign designated personnel for read/write to
data fields and Subject Matter Experts to analyze transactional
user’s access, monitor process and protocols used, control
asset inventory.
The HHS credentialed employee PII data is identified as nonSensitive Internal Business information (Identified by name
and CDC issued UserID) and limited to authorized
Administrators and Subject Matter Experts.
Describe the methods in place to allow those with
33 access to PII to only access the minimum amount of
information necessary to perform their job.

Least privilege, Role Based Access methods are used to allow
those with access to PII to only access the minimum amount of
information necessary to perform their job. The system
administrator is responsible for setting up the user access to
the system based on the CDC user ID and the permissions
assigned to it.

Identify training and awareness provided to
personnel (system owners, managers, operators,
contractors and/or program managers) using the
34
system to make them aware of their responsibilities
for protecting the information being collected and
maintained.

All CDC personnel are required to complete annual Security
and Privacy Awareness Training.

Describe training system users receive (above and
35 beyond general security and privacy awareness
training).

All CDC employees who have significant security
responsibilities are required to complete HHS/CDC Role based
training.

Do contracts include Federal Acquisition Regulation
36 and other appropriate clauses ensuring adherence to
privacy provisions and practices?

Yes
No
Each program using DCIPHER is responsible for applying its
own existing records retention schedules to PII data, and
schedules will vary across programs.

Describe the process and guidelines in place with
37 regard to the retention and destruction of PII. Cite
specific records retention schedules.

Specific to DCIPHER, the records are maintained in accordance
with General Records Schedule (GRS) and comply with CDC
Records Control Schedule (RCS). Input/output records are
disposed of when no longer needed: GRS 20.2d and 20.6.
Disposal methods include erasing computer tapes, burning or
shredding paper materials or transferring records to the
Federal Records Center when no longer needed for evaluation
and analysis.

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Administrative controls: Completion of training requirements;
risk analyses performed annually; branch management
reviewing access requests and granting minimal amount of
access.

Describe, briefly but with specificity, how the PII will
38 be secured in the system using administrative,
technical, and physical controls.

Technical controls: Users are authenticated and data secured
using operating system and server security, administered by
the local system administrator. DCIPHER's user access and
authentication is controlled by CDC's Secure Access
Management System. PII data is encrypted at rest and in
transits with access restricted to specific authorized users as
required by HHS and CDC policy.
Physical: The server is housed on CDC property with gate
guards at the entrances to the property, individual user access
credentials are required for each non-public building, floor,
and office. Closed Circuit TV is also used by the internal
security guards to check for and grant access to authorized
individuals. All components of the DCIPHER system reside in
CDC managed data center.

General Comments

Q10: Data Collation and Integration for Public Health Event Responses DCIPHER) and System for Enteric
Disease Response, Investigation, and Coordination (SEDRIC) (ESC 1771) merged into one system. SEDRIC
utilized coded data (No PII) by joining epidemiologic and laboratory data in real time; and enhanced
electronic information sharing of surveillance, outbreak, recall, and other data among local, state, and
federal partners during multi-state foodborne disease outbreak investigations. SEDRIC is a retired system
effective 19 February 2019.
DCIPHER has started the process of migrating to a cloud environment by migrating all COVID related data
and processes to HHS Protect system. DCIPHER is currently in the midst of planning for a full cloud
migration for all DCIPHER programs and data to either the HHS-managed, HHS Protect or a CDC managed
DCIPHER Cloud.

OPDIV Senior Official
for Privacy Signature

Beverly E.
Walker -S

Digitally signed by
Beverly E. Walker -S
Date: 2021.01.12 16:45:13
-05'00'

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