NIST Requests Comments on Draft Privacy Framework

Privacy Framework illustration with woman at keyboard and technicians viewing code on screens

Protecting our privacy while keeping the digital wheels of society turning may feel mutually exclusive at times, but a new tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help all of us — individuals and organizations alike — breathe a bit easier.

The agency has just released the preliminary draft of the NIST Privacy Framework: A Tool for Improving Privacy through Enterprise Risk Management. The document aims to help organizations with a tricky task: maximizing beneficial uses of data while minimizing privacy problems for individuals. While data can enhance airport security, develop social connections, or serve myriad other positive purposes, inadequate data management can result in a range of problems for individuals. In turn, these problems can affect an organization’s reputation and bottom line.