[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15024-15026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6089]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Privacy Act of 1974; Revised System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of the revision of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Agriculture proposes to revise an existing Department of Agriculture 
system of records notice now titled, USDA/OCIO-2 eAuthentication 
Service (eAuth). The USDA eAuth provides the public and government 
businesses with a single sign-on capability for USDA applications, 
management of user credentials, and verification of identity, 
authorization, and electronic signatures. USDA's eAuth collects 
customer information through an electronic self-registration process 
provided through the eAuth Web site. This System of Records Notice was 
previously published as ``USDA eAuthentication Service'' in Federal 
Register Vol. 71, No. 143 on Wednesday July 26, 2006. The revision 
reflects updates to the system name; the system location; routine uses; 
storage policies; safeguards; retention and disposal; the system 
manager; and notification, record access, and contesting procedures.

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 23, 2012. This new system 
will be effective April 23, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number USDA/
OCIO-2 by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: (970) 295-5168.
    <bullet> Mail: Chris North, Enterprise Applications Services 
Director, eAuthentication, 2150 Centre Avenue, Suite 208, Fort Collins, 
Colorado 80526.
    <bullet> Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
    <bullet> Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions, please contact: 
Shari Erickson, Program Manager, (970) 295-5128, 301 South Howes 
Street, Suite 309, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. For privacy issues, 
please contact: Ravoyne Payton, Chief Privacy Officer, Technology 
Planning, Architecture and E-Government, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The USDA eAuthentication Service provides USDA Agency customers and 
employees single sign-on capability and electronic authentication and 
authorization for USDA Web applications and services. Through an online 
self-registration process, USDA Agency customers and employees can 
obtain accounts as authorized users that will provide access to USDA 
resources without needing to re-authenticate within the context of a 
single Internet session. Once an account is activated, users may use 
the associated user ID and password that they created to access USDA 
resources that are protected by eAuthentication. Information stored in 
the eAuthentication Service may be shared with other USDA components, 
as well as appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign, or 
international government agencies as outlined in the routine uses or 
authorized by statute. This sharing will take place only after USDA 
determines that the receiving component or agency has a need to know 
the information to carry out national security, law enforcement, 
immigration, intelligence, or other functions consistent with the 
routine uses set forth in this system of records notice. The revisions 
to this system of records include renaming the system to be consistent 
with the Department's naming system; updating the system location, 
storage policies, storage safeguards, and retention and disposal 
policies; and the system manager's location; and the notification, 
record access, and contesting procedures in order to be consistent with 
the Department's best practices. In addition, the routine uses were 
amended as follows:
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 1 was deleted.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 2 was renumbered Routine Use 1 and 
revised.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 3 was renumbered Routine Use 2 and 
revised.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 4 was renumbered Routine Use 3 and 
revised.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 5 was renumbered Routine Use 4 and 
revised.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 6 was renumbered Routine Use 5 and 
revised.
    <bullet> Routine Use 6 is added to permit disclosure to the 
Department of Justice in order to represent the government's interest 
in litigation.
    <bullet> Routine Use 7 is added to permit disclosure to appropriate 
agencies, entities, and persons to prevent or address a security breach 
or suspected security breach.
    <bullet> Former Routine Use 8 was deleted.

    Dated: March 6, 2012.
Thomas J. Vilsack,
Secretary, Department of Agriculture.
SYSTEM OF RECORDS

USDA/OCIO-2

System name:
    USDA/OCIO-2 eAuthentication Service.

Security classification: Unclassified.
System location:
    USDA-NRCS Information Technology Center, 2150 Centre Avenue 
Building A, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526; USDA-NITC, 8930 Ward Pkwy, 
Kansas City, Missouri 64114.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    This system contains records on individuals who applied for and 
were granted access to USDA applications and services that are 
protected by eAuthentication. This includes members of the public and 
USDA employees.

Categories of records in the system:
Categories of records in this system include:
    The eAuthentication system will collect the following information 
from individuals:
    <bullet> Name
    <bullet> Address
    <bullet> Country of residence
    <bullet> Telephone number
    <bullet> Email address
    <bullet> Date of birth
    <bullet> Mother's maiden name
    <bullet> The system will also require users to create a user ID and 
password

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub. L. 105-277) of 
1998; Freedom to E-File Act (Pub. L. 106-222) of 2000; Electronic 
Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN, Pub. L. 106-
229) of 2000; eGovernment Act of 2002 (H.R. 2458).

[[Page 15025]]

Purpose(s):
    The records in this system are used to electronically authenticate 
and authorize users accessing protected USDA applications and services.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    Information contained in this system may be disclosed outside USDA 
as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    1. To external Web applications integrated with the government's 
federated architecture for authentication. Prior to any disclosure of 
information under this architecture, the user will request access to an 
external application with their USDA credential. All external 
applications will have undergone rigorous testing before joining the 
architecture. eAuthentication acts as a single sign-on point for USDA 
Agency applications. This allows a USDA customer to sign onto any USDA 
applications they have been authorized on via a single sign-on.
    2. When a record on its face, on in conjunction with other records, 
indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, 
criminal, or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general 
statute or particular program, statute, or by regulation, rule, or 
order issued pursuant thereto, disclosure may be made to the 
appropriate agency, whether Federal, foreign, State, local, tribal, or 
other public authority responsible for enforcing, investigating, or 
prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, or rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, if 
the information disclosed is relevant to any enforcement, regulatory, 
investigative, or prosecutive responsibility of the receiving entity.
    3. To a court or adjudicative body in a proceeding when: (a) The 
agency or any component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in 
his or her official capacity; or (c) any employee of the agency in his 
or her individual capacity where the agency has agreed to represent the 
employee; or (d) the United States Government, is a party to litigation 
or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, the 
agency determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to 
the litigation and the use of such records is therefore deemed by the 
agency to be for a purpose that is compatible with the purpose for 
which the agency collected the records.
    4. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry made at the 
written request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    5. At the individual's request to any Federal department, State or 
local agencies, or USDA partner utilizing or interfacing with 
eAuthentication to provide electronic authentication for electronic 
transactions. The disclosure of this information is required to 
securely provide, monitor, and analyze the requested program, service, 
registration, or other transaction.
    6. To the Department of Justice when: (a) The agency or any 
component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in his or her 
official capacity; or (c) any employee in his or her individual 
capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent the 
employee; or (d) the United States Government, is a party to litigation 
or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, the 
agency determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to 
the litigation and the use of such records by the Department of Justice 
is therefore deemed by the agency to be for a purpose that is 
compatible with the purpose for which the agency collected the records.
    7. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) USDA 
suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of 
information in the system of records has been compromised; (2) the USDA 
has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed 
compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, 
identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this 
system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by the USDA or 
another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; 
and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the USDA's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records are stored and maintained electronically on USDA-owned and 
operated systems in Kansas City, Missouri and Fort Collins, Colorado.

Retrievability:
    Records can be retrieved by name, username, or system ID.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable USDA automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    Records in this system will be retained in accordance with approved 
retention schedules, including: (1) Audit Reports File (N1-485-08-2, 
item 17), which provides for annual cut-off and for destruction 10 
years after cutoff; and (2) Audit Work papers (N1-485-08-2, item 2), 
which provides for annual cut-off and for destruction 6 years and 3 
months after cut-off. Additional approved schedules may apply. 
Destruction of records shall occur in the manner(s) appropriate to the 
type of record, such as shredding of paper records and/or deletion of 
computer records.

System Manager and address:
    Program Manager--Identity and Access Management, 301 South Howes 
Street, Suite 309, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521.

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, 
may submit a request in writing to the Headquarters or component's FOIA 
Officer, whose contact information can be found at http://www.dm.usda.gov/foia.htm under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes 
more than one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or 
her, the individual may submit the request to the Chief FOIA Officer, 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20250.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR Part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits

[[Page 15026]]

statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for 
notarization. While no specific form is required, you may obtain forms 
for this purpose from the Chief FOIA Officer, Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. In 
addition, you should provide the following:
    <bullet> An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you,
    <bullet> Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you,
    <bullet> Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created,
    <bullet> Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which USDA component agency may have responsive 
records,
    <bullet> If your request is seeking records pertaining to another 
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information, the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Information from the system will be submitted by the user. When a 
user wishes to transact with USDA or its partner organizations 
electronically, the user must enter name, address, country of 
residence, telephone number, date of birth, mother's maiden name, 
username, and password. As the USDA eAuthentication Service is 
integrated with other government or private sector authentication 
systems, data may be obtained from those systems to facilitate single-
sign on capabilities with the user's permission.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Narrative Statement on Revised 
eAuthentication System of Records Under the Privacy Act of 1974 USDA/
OCIO-2 eAuthentication Service
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) eAuthentication Service 
provides USDA Agency customers and employees single sign-on capability 
and electronic authentication and authorization for USDA Web 
applications and services. Through an online self-registration process, 
USDA Agency customers and employees can obtain accounts as authorized 
users that will provide access to USDA resources without needing to re-
authenticate within the context of a single Internet session. Once an 
account is activated, users may use the associated user ID and password 
that they created to access USDA resources that are protected by 
eAuthentication. Information stored in the eAuthentication Service may 
be shared with other USDA components, as well as appropriate Federal, 
State, local, tribal, foreign, or international government agencies as 
outlined in the routine uses or authorized by statute. This sharing 
will take place only after USDA determines that the receiving component 
or agency has a need to know the information to carry out national 
security, law enforcement, immigration, intelligence, or other 
functions consistent with the routine uses set forth in this system of 
records notice. USDA is publishing the routine uses pursuant to which 
it may disclose information about individuals to the extent the 
disclosure is consistent with the purpose for which the information was 
collected. Routine uses include disclosure to external Web applications 
upon user request, to other government agencies for law enforcement 
purposes if the record on its face or in conjunction with other records 
indicates a violation of law, to a court or adjudicative body if 
relevant and necessary to appropriate litigation, to a congressional 
office upon written request of the individual, to other government 
entities of USDA partners upon user request, to USDA contractors or 
industry to identify fraud, waste, or abuse to the Department of 
Justice if relevant and necessary for appropriate litigation, or to 
agencies, entities, or persons to prevent or remedy security breach. 
The authority for maintaining this system is derived from: Government 
Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub. L. 105-277) of 1998; Freedom to 
E-File Act (Pub. L. 106-222) of 2000; Electronic Signatures in Global 
and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN, Pub. L. 106-229) of 2000; 
eGovernment Act of 2002 (H.R. 2458).
    Probable or potential effects on the privacy of individuals:
    Although there is some risk to the privacy of individuals, that 
risk is outweighed by the benefits to those individuals who will be 
able to access multiple programs and applications with a single login. 
In addition, the safeguards in place will protect against unauthorized 
disclosure. Records are accessible only to individuals who are 
authorized, and physical and electronic safeguards are employed to 
ensure security. eAuthentication has a current Authority to Operate 
obtained via the completion of a Cyber Security Certification and 
Accreditation (C&A). A satisfactory risk assessment has been performed.
    OMB information collection requirements:
    OMB information collection approval: OMB No. 0503-0014

[FR Doc. 2012-6089 Filed 3-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-ZV-P