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How We Protect Your Information

The Census Bureau is committed to safeguarding the information of survey participants so that we can provide the country with high quality statistics.

Our Technology Is Secure

Protecting Information

  • Secure systems design: Working with industry partners, we have designed our systems with many layers of security to defend against and neutralize cyber threats.
  • Secure data collection: We have developed and maintain a secure internet connection for collecting your information.
  • Data encrypted: Your data is encrypted during data collection and then stored on our private, internal Census Bureau network, which is isolated from the internet by firewalls and other security measures.
  • Limited access: Our data systems are secured by two-factor authentication.

Defending Your Information

  • Staying ahead of threats: We work with industry leaders and intelligence partners to stay ahead of the latest cyber threats.
  • Continuous monitoring: We actively monitor all digital traffic and continuously inspect the use of our IT systems to make sure private information stays secure.
  • Ensuring quick response: We test our systems and conduct ongoing training for our cyber experts to make sure they are ready and able to detect any threats and can respond immediately.

We Use Cutting-Edge Safeguards to Protect Your Identity

  • Statistical purposes only: We do not identify individuals in the data we publish. We only publish statistics.
  • Confidentiality assurance: Our policies and statistical safeguards help us ensure the confidentiality of your information.
  • Confidentiality standards: Our Disclosure Review Board verifies that any data product we release meets our confidentiality standards.

Your Privacy Matters

  • Privacy and confidentiality laws: By law, every person who works with confidential information is sworn for life to keep that information confidential.
  • Remove identifiable information: We remove individuals’ names and other personal identifiers from our data products when we produce statistics.
  • We protect your information: We do not publish any information that could personally identify you, your household, or your business.

Federal Law

Title 13: The Census Bureau is governed by Title 13 of the U.S. Code. These laws provide authority for the work we do and provide strong protection for the information we collect from individuals and businesses.

  •  It is illegal for the Census Bureau to disclose or publish any private information that identifies any individuals or businesses.
  • The Census Bureau only collects information to produce statistics.
  • Information provided by someone who participates in a Census Bureau survey cannot be used against them.
  • Census Bureau employees are legally required to maintain the confidentiality of your data for life.
  • Violating Title 13 is a federal crime with a punishment of a prison sentence up to five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

Title 18: Parts of Title 13 have been amended by Title 18.

  • The relevant laws are Title 18 U.S.C Section 3559 and Section 3571, which amend Section 221 of Title 13 U.S.C.

These sections define the punishment imposed on Census Bureau employees for violating their oath of confidentiality, as well as the fines for not participating in a survey that is mandated by law.

Page Last Revised - April 12, 2023
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