Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as any information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.
Examples of PII:
- Personal Identification Numbers:
- Driver License
- Social Security
- Medical Record
- Student ID
- Credit Card
- Mortgage Account
- Biometric Data:
- Retinal Scans
- Facial Geometries
PII is often required when applying for a loan, visiting a new physician for the first time, or developing software that requires access to sensitive information (among others). Use of PII in these instances is necessary to ensure that all records and transactions associated with that individual are appropriately managed.
When PII is not protected, your customers – and your company – become affected by identity fraud and/or identity theft. Every year tens of millions of people are impacted by a breach of personal data security. If the breach is traced back to process and procedure failure at a given location, that company, and all who serve that company, can and will be held directly liable for any damages that have occurred.
Data masking hides part or all of a given data point. Identifying numbers can be limited to displaying only the last four digits of a Social Security or driver license number. Masking can also be set to only display a city, state, and zip code. Without a complete address, it would be difficult to identify any particular individual. Masking not only protects the user from prying eyes at a coffee shop, it will also help to protect the user from less than scrupulous support personnel or those with whom they have spoken with on the phone and shared the key points of information.
If you would like to know more about how Callicity can help protect you and your data, contact us and we will explain our offerings and security measures.
