It is the policy of the Honolulu Police Department
(HPD) to comply with all statutory requirements in
the event of a security breach of personal information.
APPLICABILITY
A. This procedure shall be initiated if a
security breach occurs involving personal information
(e.g., a laptop or thumb drive containing police
reports with personal information is lost or
stolen or a database containing personal information is hacked).
B. In the event of a security breach of personal
information, the HPD is required, as a government
agency that collects personal information for
specific government purposes, to provide notice
to the affected persons that there has been a
security breach following discovery or notification of the breach.
DEFINITIONS
A. Encryption or encrypted: the use of an
algorithmic process to transform data into
a form in which the data is rendered unreadable
or unusable without the use of a confidential process or key.
B. Personal information: an individual’s first
name or first initial and last name in combination
with any one or more of the following when either
the name or the following are not encrypted:
1. Social security number;
2. Driver’s license number or Hawaii State Identification Card number; or
3. Account number, credit or debit card number, access
code, or password that would permit access to an
individual’s financial account.
“Personal information” does not include publicly
available information that is lawfully made
available to the general public from federal, state,
or local government records.
C. Records: any material on which written, drawn,
spoken, visual, or electromagnetic information is
recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics.
D. Security breach: an incident of unauthorized
access to and acquisition of unencrypted or unredacted
records or data containing personal information where
illegal use of the personal information has occurred
or is reasonably likely to occur and that creates a risk of harm to a person.
Any incident of unauthorized access to and acquisition
of encrypted records or data containing personal
information along with the confidential process or
key constitutes a security breach. Good faith
acquisition of personal information by an employee
or agent of the HPD for a legitimate purpose is not
a security breach, provided that the personal
information is not used for a purpose other than
a lawful purpose of the HPD and is not subject to
further unauthorized disclosure.
PROCEDURE
A. Personnel shall immediately notify their
commander upon the discovery or notification
that a security breach has occurred.
B. Upon discovery or notification of the
security breach, disclosure notification shall
immediately be made to the affected person.
1. Required notice shall be delayed if notification
may impede a criminal investigation or jeopardize national security.
2. If such a delay is required, it shall be
documented in writing to include the name of
the law enforcement officer making the request
and the division engaged in the investigation.
3. Notice shall be immediately provided once it
is determined that the notice will no longer
impede the investigation or jeopardize national security.
C. The notice shall be clear (see Attachment 1
for a sample notice) and shall include the following information:
1. The incident in general terms;
2. The type of personal information that was
subject to unauthorized access and acquisition;
3. The general steps taken to protect the personal
information from further unauthorized access;
4. A telephone number that the person may call
for further information and assistance, if one exists; and
5. Advice that directs the person to remain
vigilant by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports.
D. Notice to affected persons may be provided by one of the following methods:
1. A written notice to the last available address on record via certified mail;
2. An electronic mail notice if the HPD is in
possession of a valid electronic mail address
and if the person has agreed to receive
communications electronically from the HPD;
3. Telephonic notice, provided that the contact
is made directly with the affected person; and
4. Substitute notice under specific conditions.
a. Substitute notice shall only be allowed if:
(1) The cost of providing notice would exceed $100,000;
(2) The affected class of subject persons to
be notified exceeds 200,000 persons;
(3) The HPD does not have sufficient contact
information for or consent from the affected
person. In this case, it may be used for only that affected person; or
(4) The HPD is unable to identify a particular
affected person. In this case, it may be used
for only that unidentifiable person.
b. Substitute notice shall consist of ALL of the following:
(1) An electronic mail notice when the HPD has
an electronic mail address for the subject person;
(2) Conspicuous posting of the notice on the HPD Internet Web site; and
(3) Notification to major statewide media.
E. The commander of the element that is responsible
for the breach or the focal point of the breach
shall oversee the drafting and issuance of the notice.
F. The commander of the element that is
responsible for the breach or the focal
point of the breach shall prepare a written
report to the Legislature within
20 days after discovery of the security
breach. The written report shall contain
the following information:
1. Detailed information relating to the nature of the breach;
2. The number of individuals affected by the breach;
3. A copy of the notice of security breach that was issued;
4. The number of individuals to whom the notice was sent;
5. Whether the notice was delayed due to law enforcement considerations; and
6. Any procedures that have been implemented to
prevent the breach from reoccurring.
If notification to the Legislature may impede
a criminal investigation or jeopardize national
security, the report to the Legislature may be
delayed until 20 days after it has been determined
that notice will no longer impede the investigation
or jeopardize national security.
G. The report shall be submitted via the
element’s chain of command for approval
and transmitted to the Legislature through
the Legislative Liaison Office.
H. The report to the Legislature shall be
in letter form and addressed to the Speaker
of the House of Representatives and the President
of the Senate (see Attachment 2).