Who We Are

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Privacy Service (PS) issues policy, provides guidance and raises privacy awareness regarding the protection of Veteran and VA employee information. Established in 2002, PS administers its programs in accordance with federal privacy laws and regulations.

As part of the Office of Information and Technology’s Office of Information and Security, PS works closely with administration-level Privacy Offices at the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, National Cemetery Administration and VA Central Office, as well as with a community of field- level Privacy Officers (POs), to implement VA’s privacy policies and programs Department-wide.

Additionally, POs work alongside Information System Security Officers to respond to privacy complaints and incidents reported by employees and Veterans.

What We Do

VA Privacy Service Mission.

To preserve and protect the personally identifiable information of Veterans, their beneficiaries, and VA employees by promoting a culture of privacy awareness and maintaining the trust of those we serve.

We Promote Awareness.

Awareness of privacy issues is critical. We implement two campaigns to spread privacy awareness across VA.

  • Privacy Matters. Provides privacy education, resources and best practices to Veterans, their beneficiaries, and other external stakeholders. We hold events throughout the year (speakers’ series, symposia, webinars, and Capitol Hill briefings) attended by those working in the privacy arena.
  • Privacy Builds Trust. Aimed at engaging VA employees, this initiative features videos, posters, fact sheets and webinars to reinforce that privacy is a priority at VA.

We Provide Policy Guidance.

VA Privacy Service oversees, directs and establishes the short- and long-term goals of VA’s Enterprise Privacy Program. As privacy issues evolve and change, we identify privacy needs and devise strategies to meet them.

We advise senior VA officials on how to best manage privacy-sensitive data, establish privacy priorities and implement privacy plans in compliance with federal and VA-specific privacy requirements as well as share best practices with other government agencies. We advocate that privacy considerations be embedded in overall VA planning, programming and budgeting.

We Expand Knowledge.

Privacy issues are dynamic; and so we promote ongoing awareness, sponsor training and provide guidance on a range of privacy subject matters:

  • National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Revision 5
  • Privacy Risk Management
  • Social Security Number Reduction (SSNR)
  • System of Records Notice (SORN)
  • Computer Matching Agreements (CMA) and Notices
  • Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA) and Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and
  • User Authentication

Visit Us

The Privacy Service website provides users with key resources and information such as privacy risk management and compliance, reporting privacy incidents, fact sheets, and events. Veterans, their families, and other stakeholders can easily access information related to data-loss prevention, privacy monitoring, identity theft, and much more. Resource guides and information on the VA Privacy Service site are designed to provide actionable information on the latest privacy regulations, guidelines, and best practices.