New Massachusetts Data Privacy regulations went into effect on March 1, 2010, requiring the proper collection, handling, and safeguarding of personal information. Personal information is defined as first name or initial and last name in combination with any of the following: social security number, state issued ID (such as a driver's license, ID card number, etc.) or financial account numbers, including credit cards. The regulations are designed to protect Massachusetts residents from identity theft and financial fraud. The regulations apply to all persons and departments in the Tufts community that collect, store, maintain, or use personal information.
Tufts takes these distributed responsibilities seriously and is continually working to ensure that the appropriate resources are available to protect the personal information of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the Tufts community.
Tufts has developed an informative website called Guard It: http://go.tufts.edu/guardit. This site provides information on data privacy and healthy security habits we can all employ. You can help prevent a student, colleague, co-worker, and even yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft or financial fraud. It is up to all of us to protect the personal information in our care.