Did you know that if data is encrypted and a data breach occurs, you are not obligated to report it? This is the power of data encryption and can potentially spare the District from unnecessary litigation and expense. This is known as an encryption safe harbor. Texas defines a data breach in terms of sensitive personal information only if the data items are not encrypted (Source: Data Breach Charts, Baker-Hostetler).
Sec. 521.053. NOTIFICATION REQUIRED FOLLOWING BREACH OF SECURITY OF COMPUTERIZED DATA. (a) In this section, "breach of system security" means unauthorized acquisition of computerized data that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of sensitive personal information maintained by a person, including data that is encrypted if the person accessing the data has the key required to decrypt the data.
In this online course, you will have the opportunity to learn how to encrypt/decrypt confidential data files and share them with others.