Pia

Privacy Impact Assessment
for the

HSIN R3 User Accounts
DHS/OPS/PIA-008
July 25, 2012
Contact Point
James Lanoue
DHS Operations
HSIN Program Management Office
202.282.9580
Reviewing Official
Mary Ellen Callahan
Chief Privacy Officer
Department of Homeland Security
(703) 235-0780

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Abstract
The Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) is maintained by the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS). HSIN is
designed to facilitate the secure integration and interoperability of information-sharing resources
among federal, state, local, tribal, private-sector commercial, and other non-governmental
stakeholders involved in identifying and preventing terrorism as well as in undertaking incident
management activities. HSIN is a user-driven, web-based, information-sharing platform that
connects all homeland security mission partners within a wide spectrum of homeland security
mission areas.
HSIN contains personally identifiable information (PII) about the homeland security
enterprise HSIN users and about members of the public who are subjects of documents, reports,
or bulletins contained in the HSIN collaboration spaces. The HSIN platform allows these diverse
communities to work together to perform investigations, identify terrorist activities, respond to
areas affected by natural disasters, and provide coordination during recovery operations. Each
Community of Interest (COI) Sponsor and/or Site Administrator is responsible for monitoring
the specific content uploaded into HSIN from that COI, ensuring compliance with the COI
Charter. This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) covers the user account registration information
required for access to the HSIN Release 3 (R3) community.

Overview
HSIN is a user-driven, web-based, information-sharing platform that connects homeland
security mission partners, consisting of DHS and its federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, private
sector, international, and other non-governmental partners within a wide spectrum of homeland
security mission areas. DHS OPS maintains HSIN. HSIN is designed to facilitate the secure
integration and interoperability of information-sharing resources among federal, state, local,
tribal, private-sector, international, and other non-governmental partners involved in identifying
and preventing terrorism and in undertaking incident management activities. HSIN is designed to
allow all relevant, vetted stakeholders access to the information regardless of jurisdictional,
geographic, or agency boundaries, so long as it has been determined that the information is
appropriate to be shared.
DHS mission partners rely on HSIN as an environment that promotes trust and sharing,
and supports the DHS and Information Sharing Environment (ISE) missions by: (1) providing
timely and accurate information related to detecting, preventing, responding to, and recovering
from terrorist attacks and natural disasters; (2) providing timely and accurate information
regarding vulnerabilities and threats, managing incidents to mitigate risks, and reducing post-

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incident loss of life and property; (3) providing near-real-time collaboration and incident
management; (4) facilitating information exchange for emergency management response and
recovery operations; and (5) connecting disparate information users in a dynamic and diverse
information exchange environment.
HSIN is the information-delivery mechanism for DHS ISE, which is mandated by the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) (6 U.S.C. §§ 485(b), (d)).
As the nation’s largest service for the secure and trusted dissemination and sharing of
sensitive but unclassified (SBU) homeland security information, HSIN enables information
sharing across the entire homeland security enterprise. This innovative, interoperable, customerdriven, cost-effective information sharing environment will enable near real-time, critical
information exchange and situational awareness to all types of users and their various operational
needs through secured access. HSIN effectively and efficiently meets the President’s goals for
secure information sharing.
Information shared through HSIN may relate to all-threats and all-hazards, law
enforcement activities, intelligence activities, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, and
natural disasters. Information is shared through HSIN among federal, state, local, tribal,
territorial, private-sector, and other non-governmental partners through two types of
collaborative spaces: HSIN COIs1 and the HSIN Shared Space.
The HSIN platform allows these diverse communities to work together to perform
investigations, identify terrorist activities, respond to areas affected by natural disasters, and
provide coordination during recovery operations.
HSIN User Account Information
This PIA covers the user account registration information required for access to the HSIN
R3 community. Users must submit basic biographic information to establish their identity and
nexus to one of the homeland security enterprise mission areas within HSIN.2 All HSIN users
must agree to the HSIN Terms of Service prior to acceptance into the HSIN information sharing
environment. The Terms of Service define a HSIN user’s basic rights, duties, and privileges as a
registered user of HSIN.
1

A Community of Interest is defined in the HSIN COI Model Charter as a, “community of HSIN Users sponsored
by DHS, a DHS-approved government agency or private sector entity, or an existing COI who have a homeland
security mission, and (i) wish to limit access to certain information to those within that community, and (ii) are able
to provide independent management of a COI Site in accordance with the standards and policies of HSIN PMO.
2
HSIN mission areas include: Emergency Management; Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources; Law
Enforcement; Public Health; Intelligence Community; and Emergency Services.

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When registering for a new account with HSIN, applicants will be requested to fill out
mandatory and optional fields listed in Table 1 below. Additionally, applicants must undergo an
identity authentication process. The identity authentication process uses a third-party Identity
Proofing (IdP)3 service to generate knowledge-based questions based on commercial identity
verification information collected by third-party companies from financial institutions, public
records, and other service providers. The information accessed by the IdP may include
information such as the individual’s commercial transaction history, mortgage payments, and
past addresses. An individual must correctly answer the knowledge-based questions generated by
the IdP in order to authenticate his or her identity and enable access to use HSIN.
In order to generate these knowledge-based questions, the IdP service collects basic PII
from the individual including name, address of residence, date of birth and, on an optional basis,
the individual’s Social Security number (SSN); however, the SSN will not be stored by the HSIN
Program Management Office (PMO).4 Each individual will be asked a minimum of two and a
maximum of four knowledge-based questions. The identity verification platform pulls data from
aggregate providers that use only data that is high-level, basic information, including, but not
limited to, name, previous addresses of residences, motor vehicle registration information, and
demographics (such as age) data. If there is not enough data to generate at least two questions,
(i.e., the person lacks sufficient information to generate an adequate number of questions), then
the individual’s identity cannot be authenticated and he or she will not be able to continue
through HSIN online registration.
The fact that an individual was unable to use the IdP service will be sent to HSIN, but no
other information. The IdP will send a transaction number, the fact that knowledge-based
questions could not be generated, and the date and time of the transaction. This information will
allow HSIN PMO to gather statistics on how many individuals are unable to use the IdP.
If there is sufficient information to generate two to four questions, the IdP will evaluate
the answers to the questions and return a pass/fail indicator to HSIN PMO. If the individual does
not successfully answer the questions generated by the IdP, he will not be authenticated and he
will not be able to continue through the HSIN online registration process. If and when the
prospective user fails identity authentication, the system will provide the applicant with a limited
number of opportunities to retry identity proofing. Should these retry attempts also fail, the
3

DHS has deployed the use of an IdP service for DHS/ USCIS Self Check Program following the same process, see
DHS /USCIS/PIA-030(b) for additional information.
4
HSIN will require individuals to authenticate their identity through the IdP and providing a SSN enhances the
ability of the IdP to generate knowledge-based questions. Since HSIN aims to make itself accessible to any
individual who wants to check his own work authorization status, DHS determined collecting SSN on a voluntary
basis would make HSIN accessible to more individuals.

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system will present the applicant with the appropriate help desk phone number to call, based on
the reason code of their failure.
IdP does not maintain the questions posed or the answers provided by the individual. The
IdP will send a transaction number, the reason for failure, the date and time of the transaction,
and an error code to HSIN PMO. This information will facilitate troubleshooting and system
management and improvement so that HSIN PMO can maintain statistics of how many
individuals are unable to authenticate through the IdP. All PII entered by the individual during
the IdP session and any questions generated by the IdP are deleted at the end of the session.
If the individual is able to answer the questions correctly, his or her identity is
authenticated, a pass indicator is returned to HSIN, and the individual will continue through the
HSIN online registration process. The next steps include aligning the applicant’s personal and
professional attributes collected from the HSIN Account Request Form to specific COI that
support their job function. These immediately aforementioned steps are intended to automatically
streamline and identify an applicable relationship between an applicant and COI(s). Once a
recommended COI relationship has been identified, the Validator of that COI will either reject or
approve the applicant’s membership in the COI. All COIs operate under customized charters and
may have specific membership criteria that an applicant must meet to qualify for entry.
The IdP maintains the time/date stamp and the fact the inquiry was made to conduct an
identity check.
HSIN will maintain the user registration and profile information to enable HSIN PMO to
have an audit trail of how the individual has used HSIN. Basic user profile information is
retained so that other members can benefit from his/her contributions, understand the user’s
qualifications and expertise for context, and judge the accuracy of the information contributed.
Additionally, the retention of users’ profiles permits the community to contact their in reference
to that particular subject matter and their declared expertise through job changes and
reassignments. Audit trails may be reviewed in response to suspected violations of the HSIN
Terms of Service.
Individuals may also gain access to HSIN through a federated user account. Federated
users are not required to go through the HSIN IdP process because their membership in another
existing information sharing portal provides the requisite identity validation. Federated users
must follow all other processes for gaining access to HSIN COIs.

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Privacy Risks and Mitigation Strategies
DHS uses the services of a third-party IdP to authenticate identity for HSIN. This may
present privacy risks, including the potential for an individual to inaccurately assume that DHS
collects and maintains commercial identity verification information, as well as the risk that an
individual may not be able to authenticate his identity using the IdP. The main benefit of HSIN is
to allow appropriate and timely information sharing among homeland security partners. The use
of the IdP service provides additional assurance that the individual’s identity is correctly
authenticated.
DHS is using the services of a third-party IdP to authenticate identity. The IdP uses
commercial identity verification information collected by third-party companies from financial
institutions, public records, and other service providers. This commercial identity verification
information does not belong to DHS, nor will DHS collect or retain such information.
Nevertheless, there is a risk that an individual seeking to make use of HSIN may inaccurately
assume that DHS collects and retains this information. To mitigate this risk, the HSIN secure
web portal user interface will employ unique branding and/or different color schemes in the
header and footer screens, such as different color scheme and screen layout and messaging on the
portal, so that the user will understand when they are interacting with DHS and when they are
interacting with the IdP. Directional guidance will also be displayed explaining why the IdP is
collecting the information, what the information is being used for, and offering the user a way to
exit the HSIN service and delete their information before the identity authentication takes place.
There may be instances when an individual is unable to authenticate his identity using the
IdP. For example, the IdP may not be able to generate knowledge-based questions if sufficient
data pertaining to an individual cannot be located. In addition, an individual may not receive a
passing score because the IdP information maintained is incorrect. If and when the prospective
user fails identity authentication, the system will provide the applicant with a limited number of
opportunities to retry identity proofing. Should these retry attempts also fail, the system will
present the applicant with the appropriate help desk phone number to call, based on the reason
code of their failure.
Information shared through HSIN may relate to all-threats and all-hazards, law
enforcement activities, intelligence activities, man-made disasters and acts of terrorism, and
natural disasters. Information is shared through HSIN among federal, state, local, tribal,
territorial, and private-sector partners through two types of collaborative spaces: HSIN COIs 5
5

A Community of Interest is defined in the HSIN COI Model Charter as a “community of HSIN Users sponsored by
DHS, a DHS-approved government agency, or private sector entity, or an existing COI who have a homeland
security mission, and (i) wish to limit access to certain information to those within that community, and (ii) are able

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and the HSIN Shared Space. For a thorough privacy risk analysis of the information collected,
maintained, used, and disseminated within HSIN COIs and the Shared Space, please see HSIN
R3 Shared Spaces Privacy Impact Assessment, DHS/OPS/PIA-007 HSIN R3 Shared Spaces.
This Privacy Impact Assessment only covers HSIN R3 user account registration information.

Section 1.0 Authorities and Other Requirements
1.1

What specific legal authorities and/or agreements permit and
define the collection of information by the project in question?

Section 515 of the Homeland Security Act, 6 U.S.C. § 321d(b)(1), requires that the
National Operations Center (now a component of DHS Operations Coordination and Planning
since the July 2005 Secretary Michael Chertoff reorganization of the Department) to “(1)
provide situational awareness and a common operating picture for the entire federal government
and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate, in the event of a natural disaster, act
of terrorism, or other manmade disaster; and (2) ensure that critical terrorism and disaster-related
information reaches government decision-makers.”
Sections 121(d)(1), (4), (11), (12)(A), (15), and (17) further provide DHS OPS with
authority to establish and collect the information in HSIN R3. Consistent with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. § 3507(d), OPS has considered the impact of the information
collection burden imposed on the public in the registration process and is complying with the
required Paperwork Reduction Act processes for this information collection. HSIN user account
registration information is maintained in strict compliance with the notification, access, and
amendment requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.
Section 1016(b)(1) of IRTPA, 6 U.S.C. § 485, requires the President to create an
information sharing environment for the sharing of terrorism information in a manner consistent
with national security and applicable legal standards relating to privacy and civil liberties.
Former DHS Secretary Chertoff’s Memorandum of January 9, 2006, establishes HSIN as
the “primary system for operational information sharing and collaboration” with DHS and its
external partners, and “the platform by which we will provide operational information and
decision support, share documents, supply situational awareness, and conduct alert, warning and
notifications.”6

to provide independent management of a COI Site in accordance with the standards and policies of the HSIN PMO.”
6
Chertoff, Secretary Michael. Homeland Security Information Sharing Network Deployment. January 9, 2006

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1.2 What Privacy Act System of Records Notice(s) (SORN(s)) apply
to the information?
User account information maintained within HSIN is covered by the DHS/ALL/004 General Information Technology Access Account Records (GITAAR) SORN, 74 Fed. Reg.
49882 (Sep. 29, 2009), which covers information collected in order to provide authorized
individuals with access to DHS information technology resources. The system enables DHS to
maintain: account information required to approve user access to information technology; lists of
organizational points of contact; and lists of emergency points of contact. The system will also
enable DHS to provide individuals access to certain programs and meetings and, where
appropriate, will allow for sharing of information among individuals in the same program to
facilitate collaboration. The system also allows DHS to track and audit usage of the system to
ensure ongoing compliance with the HSIN Terms of Service.

1.3

Has a system security plan been completed for the information
system(s) supporting the project?

Yes. A HSIN 3 System Security Plan (SSP) has been developed by HSIN PMO as of
May 2, 2012, in full compliance with DHS 4300a, in anticipation of a final authorization to
operate. In addition, HSIN maintains a HSIN/Common Operating Picture (COP) Incident
Response Plan to guide HSIN PMO response to security incidents.

1.4

Does a records retention schedule approved by the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) exist?

For user account information, NARA’s General Records Schedule 24, Section 6, “User
Identification, Profiles, Authorizations, and Password Files” states that inactive profile records
will be destroyed or deleted six (6) years after the user account is terminated or the password is
altered, or when no longer needed for investigative or security purposes, whichever is later; this
records schedule covers the retention period.
All other records maintained by HSIN are discussed further in HSIN R3 Shared Spaces
Privacy Impact Assessment, DHS/OPS/PIA-007.

1.5

If the information is covered by the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA), provide the OMB Control number and the agency number
for the collection. If there are multiple forms, include a list in an
appendix.

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The PRA applies to HSIN User Accounts, as members of the private sector can apply for
HSIN user accounts. HSIN PMO is actively pursuing full PRA review and will ensure full and
appropriate compliance.

Section 2.0 Characterization of the Information
The following questions are intended to define the scope of the information requested and/or collected, as
well as reasons for its collection.

2.1

Identify the information the project collects, uses, disseminates, or
maintains.

User registration information for HSIN includes information for all persons authorized to
access HSIN, including employees, contractors, grantees, private enterprises, and any lawfully
designated representative of the above. In addition, representatives of federal, state, local,
territorial, tribal, international, or foreign government agencies or entities may have access to
HSIN in furtherance of the DHS mission.
The personal and employment data collected for HSIN R3 user registration is limited to
the information necessary to validate the registrant’s identity and certify their nexus to one of the
homeland security enterprise mission areas within HSIN. Information collected within HSIN
from a new registrant is listed in Table 1 below:
HSIN New Registrant Information7
Mandatory fields
Primary Community
Reason for Access
First Name
Last Name
DOB
Primary E-Mail
Alternate Secondary E-Mail
Business Phone
Mobile Phone
Primary Contact Method
Secondary Contact Method
Job Title
Job Role
Organization
Business Location: (Street 1, City, Postal/ZIP,
7

Optional fields
Salutation
Middle Initial
Suffix
Nickname
Ext.
Fax
Pager
Other Phone
Business Location: (Street 2, Street 3,)
Home Location: (Street 1, Street 2, Street 3, City,
Postal/ZIP, Country, State)
Deployed Location: (Street 1, Street 2, Street 3, City,
Postal/ZIP, Country, State)
Topic(s) of Interest
HSIN Supervisor Information (Secondary E-Mail, Mobile

This list is subject to change. A user is free to consult https://government.hsin.gov/sites/HSINr3/DecSupport.aspx
to find the very latest modifications to this list. The PMO retains the right to unilaterally update this TOS as required
and will do so, to update the latest changes in system development.

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Country, State)
Phone)
HSIN Supervisor Information: (Full Name,
SBU Category
Organization, Primary E-Mail, Job Title, Business
PCII Authorized User Number Credential
Phone, Ext., Primary Contact Method, Secondary
SSN
Contact Method)
Two-factor Authentication (TFA) Delivery Value 2
Sector
(optional phone, email, or SMS)
Country of Citizenship
TFA Delivery Value 3 (optional phone, email, or SMS)
Username
Home Phone Number
Password
Security Question (x4)
Security Answer (x4)
TFA Delivery Value 1 (required phone, email, or SMS)
Table 1: HSIN New Registrant Information

Table 2 below shows the PII fields stored or not stored by HSIN PMO.
Stored

Not Stored*8

Home Address (street, city, state, postal) *
Salutation
Date of Birth
First Name
SSN *
Middle Initial
Country of Citizenship*
Last Name
Fax*
Suffix
Pager*
Business Phone
Other Phone*
Mobile Phone
Business Address*
Email
TFA Delivery Value 1 (required phone, email, or SMS)
Deployed Address*
TFA Delivery Value 2 (optional phone, email, or SMS)
TFA Delivery Value 3 (optional phone, email, or SMS)
Password
Security Question & Answer (x4)
Table 2: Identification of Stored and Not Stored PII Information

There is a 45-day period for a user to be vetted into a COI based upon the attributes
collected from the registration questionnaire. After such time, if the user has not been vetted, he
or she will need to repeat the registration process. During the vetting process, the prospective
user does not have access to any COI until a COI accepts his or her registration. At this initial
level of access, migrating users will have read-only access to the home page and HSIN Central
until the appropriate COI(s) accept them.

8

Content marked with an asterisk (*) are optional input fields and only stored if the user provides the content.

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2.2

What are the sources of the information and how is the
information collected for the project?

Basic biographic and contact information from users applying for access to HSIN is
collected directly from the user. Prospective users directly provide information related to their
individual profile, including their name, email address, employment, and supervisor’s name and
email address.
Additional sources of information include a user’s supervisor, who must supply
confirmation that the user has a nexus to a homeland security enterprise mission area and is
permitted to use HSIN for work-related purposes. Also, HSIN relies upon a third-party identity
verification provider to ensure full and effective validation through identity confirmation. No
information, other than the results of the confirmation check, are returned to HSIN and the
prospective user. If a prospective or current user has any inquiries, he should contact the thirdparty identity proofing service. This information will be used solely for the limited purpose of
identity proofing, and will not be stored on HSIN. Users may decline to provide their
information, but by doing so, their application for access will be rejected and they will not
receive an account.

2.3

Does the project use information from commercial sources or
publicly available data? If so, explain why and how this
information is used.

In order to verify the registrant’s identify, PII will be collected to validate one’s
credentials for access into HSIN, a COI, or any HSIN collaboration space within the HSIN
system. During this process, a third-party IdP will be used to ensure full and effective validation
through identity confirmation. DHS will not collect this information; the IdP will use the
information solely for the limited purpose of identity proofing and sending the confirmation. The
third-party IdP is contractually bound to only use the information collected from individuals for
identity verification, as defined by the HSIN business process, limited fraud identification, and
prevention.
The IdP maintains an audit log of the time and date of the request for validation, the name
of individual, whether they passed or failed, and if they failed the reason for the failure. No
commercial data associated with this process will be received or maintained on HSIN. Users may
decline to provide their information, but by doing so, their application for access will be rejected
and they will not be provided an account.

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2.4

Discuss how accuracy of the data is ensured.

HSIN R3 users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the autobiographic
information they place in their own profiles. Users may update their profile information at any
time to expand, reduce, or correct information they have provided; however, certain profile
information is mandatory and is derived from the user’s application: name, email address, and
the user’s Department or Agency. Upon request of the user, the HSIN R3 program manager may
make changes to the mandatory fields.

2.5

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to Characterization of the
Information

Privacy Risk: There is a privacy risk that a registrant’s application may be denied based
on the results of the use of a third party validator that may return incorrect data.
Mitigation: HSIN PMO has engaged identity verification provider to conduct these
services under contract that is required to provide a level of accuracy related to the information
used to provide the service.
Privacy Risk: Since some information is collected directly from individuals, there is a
risk that individuals will be able to circumvent supervisor approval for use of HSIN by providing
false information.
Mitigation: HSIN R3 will use a thorough nomination, validation, and identity proofing
process to register prospective users. In addition, following this initial, extensive review, users
must be nominated and validated into specific COIs, each with its own process. For HSIN R3,
HSIN PMO will establish clear security response procedures, facilitating quick communication
between COIs and HSIN Security, to report suspicious activity and efficiently resolve any
security issues facing the system. These measures, taken in combination, should mitigate the risk
of a prospective user using false information to gain access to HSIN.
Privacy Risk: In order to utilize HSIN, an individual must first pass the IdP

authentication process. It is possible that some individuals will not be able to use HSIN because
their identity cannot be authenticated through the IdP process.
Mitigation: There are several reasons why a user’s identity could not be validated. For
example, an individual may not have resided in the country long enough to establish enough
history for which to draw the authentication questions and therefore, his identity could not be
verified. Another reason could be that the information contained in the commercial databases is

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incorrect, thus providing insufficient information from which to develop authenticating
questions. A third reason could be that an individual is attempting to illegitimately access HSIN.
If and when the prospective user fails identity authentication, the system will provide the
applicant with a limited number of opportunities to retry identity proofing. Should these retry
attempts also fail, the system will present the applicant with the appropriate help desk phone
number to call, based on the reason code of their failure.
HSIN PMO will regularly review and monitor the success rate of the IdP process.
Additionally, HSIN clearly communicates the necessary actions an applicant must take in order
to correct a failed IdP verification attempt. If and when the prospective user fails identity
authentication, the system will provide the applicant with a limited number of opportunities to
retry identity proofing. Should these retry attempts also fail, the system will present the applicant
with the appropriate help desk phone number to call, based on the reason code of their failure.
Privacy Risk: DHS is using the services of a third-party IdP to authenticate identity. The
IdP uses commercial identity verification information it has collected from financial institutions,
public records, and other service providers. This commercial identity verification information
does not belong to DHS, nor will DHS collect or retain such information. Nevertheless, there is a
risk that an individual seeking access to HSIN may inaccurately assume that DHS collects and
retains this information.
Mitigation: The HSIN secure web portal user interface will employ unique branding,
such as different color scheme and screen layouts and messaging on the portal so that the user
will understand when they are interacting with DHS and when they are interacting with the IdP.
Directional guidance will also be displayed explaining why the IdP is collecting the information,
what the information is being used for, and offering the user a way to exit the HSIN service and
delete their information before the identity authentication takes place.

Section 3.0 Uses of the Information
The following questions require a clear description of the project’s use of information.

3.1

Describe how and why the project uses the information.

HSIN is designed to facilitate the secure integration and interoperability of information
sharing resources among federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, private-sector, international, and
other non-governmental partners involved in identifying and preventing terrorism and in
undertaking incident management activities. HSIN is designed to allow all relevant, vetted

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stakeholders access to the information regardless of jurisdictional, geographic, or agency
boundaries, so long as it has been determined that the information is appropriate to be shared.
User registration information is used to (1) verify the potential user’s identity; (2) contact
his/her supervisor to obtain approval for the applicant’s use of HSIN; and (3) determine a user’s
access to different shared spaces within the HSIN environment. User account information is also
used to determine a user’s operational and permission roles within HSIN. Information within the
registration account may also be used to determine HSIN “federated users.” A federated HSIN
user is one whose roles, rights, and privileges have already been vetted securely in a federated
portal that operates under a federated agreement.
A federated user shall receive revocable rights to access HSIN using the same credentials
as her original federated portal. Access shall be available through web browser, mobile device,
or other application. Such users shall be subject to the rules governing a particular HSIN COI,
including additional COI membership criteria, in the same way as any other registered HSIN
user.
In addition, aggregated information is used for reporting and metrics on the utilization of
the system. Such metrics include an analysis of the number of active users from the various
partner segments that HSIN supports and the number of users who have logged into the system
in the past 24 hours.

3.2

Does the project use technology to conduct electronic searches,
queries, or analyses in an electronic database to discover or locate
a predictive pattern or an anomaly? If so, state how DHS plans to
use such results.

No, the HSIN search function does not possess such capability.

3.3

Are there other components with assigned roles and
responsibilities within the system?

Any component within DHS may use HSIN to enhance its information-sharing
capabilities. Users have the ability to set up COIs, which operate under their specific Charter and
the HSIN Terms of Service. COIs may specify membership criteria and other controls pertaining
to who gains access to what information within the COI. These controls are designed to ensure
security and integrity of HSIN and to limit damages to HSIN, providing users with transparency
on their rights, duties, and privileges.

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At a minimum, prospective HSIN COI users must possess the following attributes: (1) the
applicant’s work assignment supports a DHS ISE mission relevant to the COI; (2) the applicant
is credentialed to access FOUO information; and (3) the applicant accepts and adhere to the
HSIN Terms of Service. All members of HSIN can view basic contact information for other
users on HSIN. Once a user is accepted into a COI, that COI membership becomes the primary
means by which a user’s access to content is defined, along with the credentials defined by the
user profile, working in conjunction with content tagging and rules-based permissions.
The HSIN PMO is a data and content steward and is not responsible for the content that
users and COIs post to any element of HSIN or retain custody and exclusive control over at any
location within HSIN, under their relevant and applicable federal, state, local, territorial and
tribal information management, privacy, public disclosure (or “sunshine”) and records
management statutes, or regulations.

3.4

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to the Uses of Information

Privacy Risk: There is a privacy risk that user account information may be used in a
manner inconsistent with the purpose of the original collection.
Mitigation: HSIN user account information is only used to provide authorized
individuals with access to DHS information technology resources. HSIN is designed to allow all
relevant, vetted stakeholders access to the information regardless of jurisdictional, geographic, or
agency boundaries, so long as the information is appropriate to be shared. In order to verify the
registrant’s identity, PII will be collected to validate one’s credentials for access into HSIN, a
COI, or any HSIN collaboration space within the HSIN system. During the authentication
process, the IdP will be used to ensure full and effective validation through identity
authentication. Third-party validation is used to ensure objectivity during the nomination,
validation, and identity proofing process. By dividing the roles of nominator and validator, the
risk of inappropriate, unilateral vetting is significantly reduced, ensuring that any new user, or a
member of a COI, has been reviewed and confirmed as an appropriate, secure user on HSIN and
in a given COI. The data fields listed in Table 1 above are all strictly necessary to ensure such
effective validation. If a user’s original criteria for membership in HSIN changes, he or she will
need to be re-validated into a community.
Privacy Risk: There is a risk that the IdP will misuse the data collected during the
identity verification process.
Mitigation: The IdP is contractually bound to only use the information collected from
individuals for identity verification, as defined by the HSIN business process, limited fraud

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identification, and prevention. HSIN PMO confirms IdP compliance by ensuring all contract
terms are adhered to through project management and compliance meetings throughout the term
of the contract. The HSIN PMO will also provide guidance to HSIN users on how to notify the
HSIN PMO of any irregularities in their credit reports as a result of using HSIN.

Section 4.0 Notice
The following questions seek information about the project’s notice to the individual about the information
collected, the right to consent to uses of said information, and the right to decline to provide information.

4.1

How does the project provide individuals notice prior to the
collection of information? If notice is not provided, explain why
not.

Users of HSIN R3 COIs receive notice of collection and use through a Privacy Act
Statement and advisory notices. Users receive a Privacy Act Statement on the user access request
form at the time of enrollment. Additionally, users receive notice that their activity on HSIN R3
will be logged and monitored in accordance with DHS authorities and policies to ensure
appropriate use of DHS systems. The user notice is provided prior to each login.

4.2

What opportunities are available for individuals to consent to
uses, decline to provide information, or opt out of the project?

In the HSIN Terms of Service, all prospective users have the opportunity to consent to or
decline the basic rights, duties, and privileges defined for HSIN users. Beyond the PII required to
establish an account, all other PII is voluntarily provided by the user at his/her discretion. Users
who choose not to provide the additional information necessary to complete the user profile may
see the value of their participation in HSIN R3 diminish, but it will not affect their ability to have
an account.

4.3

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to Notice

Privacy Risk: An individual seeking to make use of HSIN may inaccurately assume that
the IdP authentication information belongs to and is collected and retained by DHS.
Mitigation: The HSIN secure web portal user interface will employ unique branding,
such as different color scheme and screen layouts and messaging on the portal so that the user
will understand when they are interacting with DHS and when they are interacting with the IdP.
Directional guidance will also be displayed explaining why the IdP is collecting the information,

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what the information is being used for, and offering the user a way to exit the HSIN service and
delete their information before the identity authentication takes place.
Privacy Risk: HSIN users will not understand how their registration information is being
collected and used by DHS.
Mitigation: The HSIN secure web portal user interface will have a clear Privacy Act
notice at the point of collection as well as a link to the privacy policy on each page. Specific
information on the use of the IdP will also be provided as the applicant goes through the process
of applying for membership.

Section 5.0 Data Retention by the project
The following questions are intended to outline how long the project retains the information after the initial
collection.

5.1

Explain how long and for what reason the information is retained.

HSIN user account records will be retained and disposed of in accordance with the
National Archives and Records Administration’s General Records Schedule 24, section 6, “User
Identification, Profiles, Authorizations, and Password Files.” Inactive records will be destroyed
or deleted six (6) years after the user account is terminated or the password is altered, when a
user no longer wishes to be a registered user, or when no longer needed for investigative or
security purposes, whichever is later.
DHS uses the services of a third-party IdP to authenticate an individual’s identity. The
third-party IdP uses commercial identity verification information to create the knowledge-based
questions used to authenticate identity. This information does not belong to DHS, nor will DHS
collect or retain the information from other sources relied upon by the third-party provider. The
IdP maintains the time/date stamp so that the identity check inquiry is recorded and can be
audited at a later date.

5.2

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to Retention

Privacy Risk: There is a risk that HSIN user account information will be retained longer
than is necessary.
Mitigation: HSIN R3 retains user account information for up to six (6) years from the
time the account is deactivated. Retention of user account information while the account is active

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is appropriate given the user’s role in the homeland security mission space. By retaining the
user’s profile, other members can benefit from his/her contributions, understand the user’s
qualifications and expertise for context, and judge the accuracy of the information contributed.
Additionally, the retention of users’ profiles permits the community to contact them in reference
to that particular subject matter and their declared expertise through job changes and
reassignments.

Section 6.0 Information Sharing
The following questions are intended to describe the scope of the project information sharing external to
the Department. External sharing encompasses sharing with other federal, state and local government, and private
sector entities.

6.1 Is information shared outside of DHS as part of the normal
agency operations? If so, identify the organization(s) and how the
information is accessed and how it is to be used.
Yes, name, date of birth, home address, SSN (if provided), and home phone (if provided)
will be collected for identity authentication purposes by a third-party IdP. This information
sharing is covered under the contract with the third-party IdP service provider. The third-party
IdP service will not disclose or share any of the information provided under this service as stated
under the terms and conditions of the contract.
The authentication questions posed by the IdP are not shared with DHS, only the the
pass/fail outcome of the identity authentication.
In addition to the third party IdP, HSIN will share user information with the sponsoring
agency to ensure employment is accurately reflected and the individual has a need to be in a
particular COI.
By default, a user’s basic contact information, as listed in the Table 3 below, will be
shared with all registered HSIN users in order to allow collaboration among the various
community members.

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HSIN Users “My Profile”
Category
Basic Information

Display Name

User Name
Name
Salutation
First Name
Middle Initial
Last Name
Suffix
Nickname
About Me
Picture
Certifications
User Interests
Business Phone
Table 3: Basic Information Shared Among All HSIN Registered Users

Furthermore, a user may select to share the additional fields listed in Table 4 below, with
all members of the HSIN community. The middle column identifies the user registrant
information that may be shared with, and only with, the HSIN user community. The column on
the right identifies whether or not the user information is defaulted to be shared with “everyone”
or “only me,” meaning only the user to whom the information belongs as opposed to the HSIN
user community.
"My Profile" Category

Display Name

"Show To" Default

Basic Information

Primary Community

Everyone

Contact Information

Primary E-Mail

Everyone

Secondary E-Mail

Everyone

Extension

Everyone

Mobile Phone

Only Me

Fax

Everyone

Pager

Only Me

Other Phone

Only Me

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"My Profile" Category

Employment Information

Business Location

Home Location

Deployed Location

Display Name

"Show To" Default

Primary Contact Method

Everyone

Secondary Contact Method

Everyone

Job Title

Everyone

Job Role

Only Me

Organization

Everyone

Street 1

Only Me

Street 2

Only Me

Street 3

Only Me

City

Only Me

County

Only Me

Postal/ZIP

Only Me

Country

Only Me

Street 1

Only Me

Street 2

Only Me

Street 3

Only Me

City

Only Me

County

Only Me

Postal/ZIP

Only Me

Country

Only Me

Street 1

Only Me

Street 2

Only Me

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"My Profile" Category

Display Name

"Show To" Default

Street 3

Only Me

City

Only Me

County

Only Me

Postal/ZIP

Only Me

Country

Only Me

Table 4: Additional User Registration Fields that may be Shared within the HSIN Community

6.2

Describe how the external sharing noted in 6.1 is compatible with
the SORN noted in 1.2.

The external sharing of information from these systems of record is compatible with the
following routine uses:9
To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, and others performing
or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment
for DHS, when necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of
records. Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to the
same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are applicable to DHS
officers and employees.
To sponsors, employers, contractors, facility operators, grantees, experts, and
consultants in connection with establishing an access account for an individual or
maintaining appropriate points of contact, and when necessary to accomplish a DHS
mission function or objective related to this system of records.
To other HSIN users in the same operational program supported by an informationtechnology system, where appropriate notice to the individual has been made that his
or her contact information will be shared with other members of the same operational
program in order to facilitate collaboration.

9

See DHS/ALL/004 - General Information Technology Access Account Records (GITAAR) SORN (74 FR 49882;
September 29, 2009), available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-23513.htm.

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6.3

Does the project place limitations on re-dissemination?

Dissemination of account information to anyone not involved with the creation,
maintenance, deactivation, or deletion of the account is not authorized. Directory and profile
information is only available online to active account holders.

6.4

Describe how the project maintains a record of any disclosures
outside of the Department.

Records of disclosures of PII outside the Department, used to support identity proofing
with third parties by HSIN PMO and/or the third-party identity verification providers are
maintained through standard system audit records. Such records are maintained for those PII
fields which the PMO actually stores.

6.5

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to Information Sharing

Privacy Risk: The privacy risk is more user registration information than is appropriate
may be shared inappropriately outside of DHS.
Mitigation: In order to mitigate this risk, HSIN PMO has set up the IdP so that
registrant’s identity is verified, but DHS does not collect the additional PII required to conduct
the verification

Section 7.0 Redress
The following questions seek information about processes in place for individuals to seek redress which
may include access to records about themselves, ensuring the accuracy of the information collected about them,
and/or filing complaints.

7.1

What are the procedures that allow individuals to access their
information?

HSIN R3 users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the autobiographic
information they place in their own profiles. Users may update many elements of their profile
information at any time to expand, reduce, or correct information they have provided. However,
certain profile information is mandatory and is derived from the user’s application: name, email
address, and the Department or Agency with which the user is affiliated. When individuals
access their HSIN account information, they will be able to edit the following fields listed below
in Table 5.

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Editable Fields
About Me
Picture
Certifications
User Interests
Secondary E-Mail
Business Phone
Ext.
Mobile Phone
Fax
Pager
Other Phone
Primary Contact Method
Secondary Contact Method
Job Title
Job Role
Street 1
Street 2
Street 3
City
County
Postal/ZIP
Country
Street 1
Street 2
Street 3
City
County
Postal/ZIP
Country
Street 1
Street 2
Street 3
City
County
Postal/ZIP
Country
Authorization Expiration Date
Security Question
Security Answer
Table 5: Editable fields from HSIN profile page

There may be instances when an individual is unable to authenticate his/her identity using
the IdP authentication process. There are several reasons why this could happen. For example, an
individual may not have resided in the country long enough to establish a credit or address
history and therefore, his identity could not be verified. Another reason could be that the
information contained in the commercial databases is incorrect. Alternatively, an individual

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could be attempting to illegitimately access HSIN. If an applicant is unable to authenticate his or
her identity, an error message will display directing the applicant to call the HSIN Help Desk in
order to inquire and/or be directed to the IdP provider to resolve the issue.
HSIN PMO will regularly review and monitor the success rate of the IdP process. HSIN
will also clearly communicate the necessary actions an applicant must take in order to correct a
failed IdP verification attempt.

7.2

What procedures are in place to allow the subject individual to
correct inaccurate or erroneous information?

HSIN R3 users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the autobiographic
information they place in their own profiles. Users may update many elements of their profile
information at any time to expand, reduce, or correct information they have provided. However,
certain profile information is mandatory and is derived from the user’s application: name, email
address, and the Department or Agency with which the user is affiliated. When individuals
access their HSIN account information, they will be able to edit the fields listed above in Table
5. Should a user seek to update profile information that cannot be unilaterally updated, the user
may contact the HSIN Help Desk or HSIN Outreach Team for assistance.
In addition above, individuals may seek notification of and access to any record
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may submit a request in
writing to the Headquarters or component FOIA Officer, whose contact information can be
found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under “contacts.” If an individual believes more than one
component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her, the individual may submit the
request to the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, S.W., Building 410, STOP-0655,
Washington, D.C. 20528.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or any other
Departmental system of records, your request must conform with the Privacy Act regulations set
forth in 6 CFR Part 5. You must first verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your
full name, current address, and date and place of birth. You must sign your request, and your
signature must either be notarized or submitted under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, a law that permits
statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific
form is required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy Officer and
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http://www.dhs.gov/foia or 1-866-431-0486. In
addition you should provide the following:

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An explanation of why you believe the Department would have information on you;
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe may have the
information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been created;
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA staff determine which DHS
component agency may have responsive records; and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another living individual, you must
include a statement from that individual certifying his/her agreement for you to access
his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able to conduct an
effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack of specificity or lack of compliance
with applicable regulations.

7.3

How does the project notify individuals about the procedures for
correcting their information?

HSIN registrants are notified in the form of a Privacy Act Statement on their user account
creation questionnaire, the publication of this PIA, and the publication of the DHS/ALL/004 General Information Technology Access Account Records (GITAAR) SORN, 74 Fed. Reg.
49882 (Sep. 29, 2009), in the Federal Register and on www.dhs.gov/privacy.

7.4

Privacy Impact Analysis: Related to Redress

Privacy Risk: There is a privacy risk that HSIN users will not be able to correct or
amend their HSIN user information.
Mitigation: A HSIN user shall have the right to edit/modify his profile information in his
HSIN Mysite (a.k.a. My HSIN) profile, which is viewable by other HSIN users. A HSIN user
shall not have the right to unilaterally modify the registration information retained by the
Program for purposes of program and system management. To modify and/or update such
information, the user will have to contact the HSIN Help Desk.

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Section 8.0 Auditing and Accountability
The following questions are intended to describe technical and policy based safeguards and security
measures.

8.1

How does the project ensure that the information is used in
accordance with stated practices in this PIA?

HSIN PMO, in coordination with COIs, has the ability to track content access requests
through the use of logs and standard, automated workflows defining the movement of content. In
so doing, access requests and the movement of content, including re-dissemination, are
documentable. Workflows may be utilized to ensure that certain types of marked content cannot,
technically, be shared with certain types of users and/or communities.
A HSIN 3.0 System Security Plan (SSP) has been developed by HSIN PMO as of May 2,
2012, in full compliance with DHS 4300a, in anticipation of a final authorization to operate. All
HSIN users are required to operate within the bounds of their actual authorities, the Terms of
Service, and the rules established by the relevant COI in its Charter. Each COI will establish a
Charter that will define its purpose, objectives, and management structure, clearly defining how
the COI will work to advance the mission of ISE, IRTPA, and Section 515. HSIN PMO will
work in cooperation with each COI to ensure such rules are enforced, and will enforce rules
regarding the regular review of COIs and whether their purpose and objectives still justify the
operation of the COI. If it is found that a COI is no longer required, PMO will work with the
appropriate COI sponsors to eliminate that COI. Collectively, these rules and bounds will
mitigate the risk of uses of content on HSIN inconsistent with specific mission areas and
authorities.

8.2

Describe what privacy training is provided to users either
generally or specifically relevant to the project.

All OPS employees, contractors, and other personnel receive initial on-boarding within
30 days and annual privacy and security awareness training thereafter. HSIN PMO will offer
baseline training regarding the topics below; however, the duty to pursue such applicable training
is the responsibility of users and their COIs. Privacy-related training topics provided from HSIN
PMO include:
Privacy and FOIA compliance
Records Management
COI Roles/Limitations

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Classifications and Markings (PII, SSI, FOUO, etc.)
Nomination/Validation Certifications
Mobile Device Access
Shared Space Activities
508 Compliance
Recurring and evolving training topics will be made available to all users from the HSIN
Central landing page. HSIN training material will be tailored to ensure the content is relevant to
the audience and delivered in flexible pre-recorded modules and short virtual conference training
sessions that will allow the opportunity for the trainees to ask questions and explore within their
operational context. A training delivery schedule will be established to ensure all site managers,
site designers, content managers, and contributors have attended the appropriate courses in
advance of the majority of end users. In-person classroom training shall be provided for site
managers, site designers, content managers, and content contributors. In addition, to
accommodate users spanning the continental U.S and its territories, the training team shall be
prepared to support virtual training as required. As supplemental instruction, the training team
will provide brief online training modules that will also include best-practice guidance on topics
such as document management and content dissemination.

8.3

What procedures are in place to determine which users may
access the information and how does the project determine who
has access?

HSIN maintains strict permissions controls for use when determining if an applicant for
membership to HSIN can become a registered HSIN user. These controls are designed to ensure
the security and integrity of HSIN and limit damages, provide users transparency on terms of
service, and make enforcing penalties easier.
A qualified individual may only be considered for access to HSIN either by being nominated
by a current user or calling the HSIN Help Desk to request that a point of contact be provided.
Prospective users will be required to answer a set of questions mapping their attributes to their
job function or purpose for using HSIN. The personal and employment data collected for HSIN’s
identity proofing process is limited to the information necessary to validate the registrant’s
identity by a legitimate and approved validating authority of the respective COI, the
qualifications to enter into particular HSIN collaboration spaces, and/or to access specific
information within HSIN.
HSIN Registration information will be saved and stored on HSIN and may be shared by any

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DHS entity or component involved in the process of validating the registrant’s identity for access
to a particular COI or collaboration space.
There is a 45-day period for a user to be vetted into a COI based upon the attributes
collected from the questionnaire following his/her successful completion of the initial HSIN
registration and identity proofing procedures. After such time, if the user has not been vetted,
he/she will need to repeat the registration process. During the vetting process, the prospective
user does not have access to any COI until a COI accepts his or her registration. At this initial
level of access, migrating users will have read-only access to the home page and HSIN Central
until the appropriate COI(s) accept them.
In order to gain access to HSIN, potential users must submit biographical and employment
information so that they may be verified as legitimate potential users. This initial verification of
identity is conducted through a third-party service. Users may decline to provide their
information during this initial review process, but by doing so, their application for access will
be rejected and they will not be provided an account. Upon successful review and authentication,
each user is assigned to a primary COI based on their information sharing requirements,
permissions, and interests. At this point, the User must also access HSIN using a two-factor
authentication process, which is standard for all HSIN users. Two-factor authentication helps
ensure the integrity of the System by validating the registered user’s identity.
The COI sponsor is responsible for evaluating the newly nominated, prospective user for
acceptance into its COI. With exceptions, the COI sponsor should be from the same jurisdiction
or jurisdiction-type as the majority of the users making up the COI. If there are multiple
jurisdictions within a COI or sub-COI, the COI Site Manager must be from the same jurisdictiontype as the majority of users making up the COI. Each COI establishes membership criteria and
potential users must meet those requirements in order to gain access to such community. Every
COI empowers specific validating authorities to vet potential users into the community. Those
validating authorities are responsible for verifying the legitimacy of the potential user. The
primary COI and its sponsor(s) will have authoritative responsibilities over the COIs users.
Each COI has one or more sponsors with authoritative responsibility over the COI’s
users. Responsibility for all nomination and validation procedures for the COI resides with the
COI sponsor(s). Nomination and/or validation duties are performed by an authority within the
COI’s established management—such duties cannot be delegated to an individual or
organization outside of the COI’s management structure (e.g., a state COI cannot delegate
authority to a federal agency who is not also a sponsor of the COI).
The COI Sponsor shall be responsible for evaluating the newly nominated prospective

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user for acceptance into its COI. With exceptions, the COI sponsor should be from the same
jurisdiction or jurisdiction type as the majority of the users making up the COI. If there are
multiple jurisdictions within a COI or sub-COI, the COI sponsor must be from the same
jurisdiction-type as the majority of users making up the COI. 10 In addition to these controls, the
COI maintains additional criteria for admitting new users into its community. At a minimum,
prospective HSIN COI users must possess the following attributes: (1) the applicant’s work
assignment supports a DHS ISE mission relevant to the COI; (2) the applicant is credentialed to
access FOUO information; and (3) the applicant accepts and adhere to the HSIN Terms of
Service.
Once verified, the user receives access privileges to only her Primary COI; however, a
user can be a member of more than one COI if it is appropriate and the membership criteria are
met. At this second level of access, the user has been vetted into a COI and has functional
capabilities consistent with the attributes defined during the initial registration questionnaire. A
user’s COI membership is the principal content-permissions control mechanism for users. The
user’s COI membership, and all the user attributes that such membership defines, work in
concert with specific content tags attached to particular content, to determine the accessibility of
content for a particular user.

8.4

How does the project review and approve information sharing
agreements, MOUs, new uses of the information, new access to the
system by organizations within DHS and outside?

HSIN maintains strict permission controls when evaluating the credentials for a
prospective applicant. These controls are designed to limit damages and ensure that the security
and integrity of HSIN are upheld. Additionally, these controls provide users transparency on the
terms of service and make enforcing penalties easier. Users may decline to provide their
information during the initial review process, but by doing so, their application for access will be
rejected and they will not be provided an account. Upon successful review and authentication,
each user is assigned to a primary COI.
Each COI will establish a Charter that will include enforceable rules to ensure that PII is
only posted to a given COI as required, and only shared to the Shared Space as required to
advance the mission of the ISE, IRTPA, and Section 515. HSIN PMO will work in cooperation
with each COI to ensure such rules are enforced. Under the terms of these Charters, and the
10

The requirement that a Sponsor(s) be from the same jurisdiction and/or jurisdiction type as the majority of its
COI’s user-members should not be interpreted in any way as to limit cross or multi-jurisdictional information
sharing and collaboration. This provision is provided to ensure the integrity of the nomination/validation process,
having nominators and validators best positioned to perform their duties.

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HSIN Terms of Service, each User and content owner in HSIN shall be responsible for ensuring
that content loaded onto HSIN is the most accurate and up-to-date available, and that outdated,
inaccurate information is withdrawn from HSIN. HSIN PMO will coordinate with each COI to
ensure that its Charter includes a provision for removing outdated, no longer accurate, shared
content. HSIN PMO will also explore potential development of business processes to remove
shared content that has been in the Shared Space for an inappropriately long period of time,
archiving the content in conjunction with individual COI rules. The HSIN Program Office will
work in cooperation with each COI to ensure all such rules are enforced.

Responsible Officials
Donna Roy
HSIN Program Director
Department of Homeland Security

Approval Signature

Original signed and on file with the DHS Privacy Office.
________________________________
Mary Ellen Callahan
Chief Privacy Officer
Department of Homeland Security

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Appendix
Primary Communities of Interest11

DHS
Components
and Offices

Departments &
Federal
Agencies

11

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CISOMB)
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement (CNE)
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO)
Executive Secretariat (ESEC)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
Office of the General Counsel (OGC)
Office of Health Affairs (OHA)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A)
Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA)
Management (MGMT)
National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC)
National Protection & Programs Directorate (NPPD)
Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS)
Office of Policy (PLCY)
Privacy Office (PRIV)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
Science and Technology (S&T)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
United States Coast Guard (USCG)
United States Secret (USSS)
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Interior (DOI)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Defense Security Service (DSS)

Please note that this is an initial, non-final list of primary COIs submitted as of 06/2012. The list is likely to
change, with some COIs currently listed deleted, and others added. The list is likely to change and be revised as
HSIN 3.0’s Full Operating Capability date nears, and from that date forward.

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Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Education (ED)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of the Treasury
Department of Transportation (DOT)

States

Territories

Alabama
Alaska
American Samoa
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri

Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northern Marianas Islands
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Virgin Islands
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

American Samoa
Guam
Northern Marianas Islands

Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands

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Tribal

Alaska
Great Plains
Northwest
Southern Plains
Eastern
Navajo Pacific

Southwest
Eastern Oklahoma
Midwest
Rocky Mountain
Western
Table 6: Primary Communities of Interest