PII (Personally Identifiable Information): What Is It, and How Do I Keep It Secure?

[This article is part of a series about how to protect and safely transfer sensitive information such as social security numbers (SSNs) and other PII (personally identifiable information).]

Rivier University takes the protection of your personal information very seriously. Did you know that you also have a responsibility to keep your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) safe? This includes NEVER sending unencrypted Personally Identifiable Information through email to anyone, including Rivier faculty, staff, and offices.

What is Personally Identifiable Information (PII)? Examples include:

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Driver’s license number
• State ID card
• Passport number

And PII consists of your last name, and first name or initial, with any one of following:

• Financial account (checking, savings, brokerage, CD), credit card, or debit card numbers
• Date of birth

To ensure the safety of your personal information, effective March 1, 2021, any attempt to send an email from a Rivier account with a Social Security Number (SSN) included in the content will be blocked from sending. It will result in the following message:

A Social Security Number was detected in this email. Per Rivier policy, this e-mail cannot be sent. Please contact itsupport@rivier.edu for an alternative way to send this information.

In addition, if you attempt to send an email with other forms of PII included, you will receive a pop-up warning in Outlook. Review your message and remove unnecessary personally identifiable information before sending the message.

If you have questions, please contact IT Support at itsupport@rivier.edu.

Related articles:

• Alternatives to Sending Unencrypted Email That Contains PII
• How do I send an encrypted email message?
• Email Support & Email Security (All KB Articles)