Recruiters, Google Users Prohibited From Storing PII on Google Apps for Government
By Lynsie Dickerson, USAREC, Public Affairs
Aug. 24, 2015
Recruiters and other Google Apps for Government users will soon have to change the way they store personal identifying information due to changing policies, increasing cyber threats and breaches, and the continued need to safely handle the public’s information.
“Previously, we had an authority to operate that was granted to us from Army G6 that allowed us to host a certain level of data within the Google Drive,” said Ronnie Creech, U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s G6 director. “We could capture source documents and other PII, and we could place it into the Google Drive. Those authorities and permissions have changed in light of the recent government security breaches.”
“PII should not be stored, maintained or utilized on Google Apps for Government,” said Merle Collard, USAREC information assurance chief, adding that individuals will have time to look through their Google accounts and clean up the information they have stored.
Creech said the operation of capturing PII and placing it in Google Drive has been suspended.
“We’re taking a pause to further review the policies and the security requirements,” Creech said. “We’re getting a legal review from SJA on what we can and can’t store within the Google Drive or Google.”
In addition to looking at Google Drive and the other Google Apps for Government, an effort is being made to improve security on other devices as well, Creech said.
“It’s across the whole IT spectrum that we’re taking a look,” he said. “We’re getting ready to have a contract awarded to replace all the multifunction devices across the entire command.
“At the center level in particular, they’re going to get brand new multifunction fax/copy/scan devices. To help them in their mobility efforts, we want to get them the permission to capture documentation securely with their tablet and then upload it to the mission applications.”
Creech said he is aware that having to comply with changing policies interrupts operations and makes it a bit more difficult on the recruiters to get their job done, but the main concern remains security of information, the public’s trust, and that the public’s information remains secure.
“I would encourage recruiters to make sure their cyber awareness training is up to date, that they closely read their acceptable use policy before they sign it -- because that tells you the dos and don’ts—and that if they have any questions about how they are storing information or handling information, that they seek out information from their battalion IMO or their leadership. We’re always here to support them as well.”
The changing policies don’t prohibit recruiters from using Google Apps for Government altogether, Creech assured. For example, Google Drive can still be used for storing classroom presentations, Google+ can be used for social media, and Gmail can be used for email as long as PII is not being sent.
Information including a name, phone number and one of three forms of address (email, mailing, or social media) are still permitted to be stored in Google Apps, according to a G3 tasking.
“We still want to continue to innovate, we still want to continue to press ahead, but as the rules change, we have to change the way we approach that innovation and that new technology so that we remain secure, compliant, and protecting people and their information,” Creech said. “We have to make sure we’re doing the right thing to protect the recruiters, the public, the commander, and the Army, so that’s the reason that we’re doing what we’re doing.”
By Lynsie Dickerson, USAREC, Public Affairs
Aug. 24, 2015
Recruiters and other Google Apps for Government users will soon have to change the way they store personal identifying information due to changing policies, increasing cyber threats and breaches, and the continued need to safely handle the public’s information.
“Previously, we had an authority to operate that was granted to us from Army G6 that allowed us to host a certain level of data within the Google Drive,” said Ronnie Creech, U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s G6 director. “We could capture source documents and other PII, and we could place it into the Google Drive. Those authorities and permissions have changed in light of the recent government security breaches.”
“PII should not be stored, maintained or utilized on Google Apps for Government,” said Merle Collard, USAREC information assurance chief, adding that individuals will have time to look through their Google accounts and clean up the information they have stored.
Creech said the operation of capturing PII and placing it in Google Drive has been suspended.
“We’re taking a pause to further review the policies and the security requirements,” Creech said. “We’re getting a legal review from SJA on what we can and can’t store within the Google Drive or Google.”
In addition to looking at Google Drive and the other Google Apps for Government, an effort is being made to improve security on other devices as well, Creech said.
“It’s across the whole IT spectrum that we’re taking a look,” he said. “We’re getting ready to have a contract awarded to replace all the multifunction devices across the entire command.
“At the center level in particular, they’re going to get brand new multifunction fax/copy/scan devices. To help them in their mobility efforts, we want to get them the permission to capture documentation securely with their tablet and then upload it to the mission applications.”
Creech said he is aware that having to comply with changing policies interrupts operations and makes it a bit more difficult on the recruiters to get their job done, but the main concern remains security of information, the public’s trust, and that the public’s information remains secure.
“I would encourage recruiters to make sure their cyber awareness training is up to date, that they closely read their acceptable use policy before they sign it -- because that tells you the dos and don’ts—and that if they have any questions about how they are storing information or handling information, that they seek out information from their battalion IMO or their leadership. We’re always here to support them as well.”
The changing policies don’t prohibit recruiters from using Google Apps for Government altogether, Creech assured. For example, Google Drive can still be used for storing classroom presentations, Google+ can be used for social media, and Gmail can be used for email as long as PII is not being sent.
Information including a name, phone number and one of three forms of address (email, mailing, or social media) are still permitted to be stored in Google Apps, according to a G3 tasking.
“We still want to continue to innovate, we still want to continue to press ahead, but as the rules change, we have to change the way we approach that innovation and that new technology so that we remain secure, compliant, and protecting people and their information,” Creech said. “We have to make sure we’re doing the right thing to protect the recruiters, the public, the commander, and the Army, so that’s the reason that we’re doing what we’re doing.”