C.2.8.10 - Entitlement event information

Entitlement event information includes information about events such as death and date of occurrence, date of a disabling event and the relating data that can reasonably prove the severity of such disability, proof of age for retirement benefits, birth and relationship of spouse and/or children who may be entitled to benefits only as auxiliaries of the primary beneficiary, and other related information needed to process a claim for benefits.

This also includes means-related information required to administer all the means related benefits associated with the Title XVI (Supplementary Security Income Program) and the new drug provisions of the recently revised Medicare Program. The recommended security categorization for the entitlement event information type is as follows:

Security category

C.2.8.10 - Entitlement event information = {(confidentiality, Moderate), (integrity, Moderate), (availability, Moderate)}

Confidentiality Moderate

The confidentiality impact level is based on the effects of unauthorized disclosure of entitlement event information on the ability of the Federal government to establish qualifications of individuals to receive government benefits - and to protect individuals and the Federal government against fraud. Unauthorized disclosure of raw data and other source information for entitlement operations is likely to violate the Privacy Act of 1974 and other regulations applicable to the dissemination of personal information. Unauthorized disclosure of centrally managed entitlement event information can have a serious adverse effect on agency missions. Therefore for agencies that manage large income information involving records of the general public, the provisional confidentiality impact level can be expected to be at least moderate. Recommended Confidentiality Impact Level: The provisional confidentiality impact level recommended for entitlement event information is moderate.

Integrity Moderate

The integrity impact level is based on the specific use of the entitlement event information and not on the time required to detect the modification or destruction of information. In the case of very large databases containing entitlement event information relating to the general public, there is a significant probability that erroneous actions will be taken affecting the benefits entitlements of large numbers of individuals. This can result in at least short-term financial hardship for citizens. It can also be expected to result in serious disruption of the agency operations due to the time and resource requirements for taking corrective actions. In such cases, the integrity impact level would be at least moderate. Special Factors Affecting Integrity Impact Determination: In the case of smaller organizations, and where the information affected is limited to employees, the consequences may justify only a low provisional impact rating. Recommended Integrity Impact Level: The provisional integrity impact level recommended for entitlement event information is moderate.

Availability Moderate

The availability impact level is based on the specific use of the entitlement event information and not on the time required to re-establish access to the income information. Benefits determination processes are generally tolerant of reasonable delays. In many cases, disruption of access to entitlement event information can be expected to have only a limited adverse effect on agency operations, agency assets, or individuals. Special Factors Affecting Availability Impact Determination: In the case of very large data bases containing entitlement event information relating to the general public, there is a significant probability that processing delays will affect the benefits entitlements of large numbers of individuals. The larger the number of records affected, the longer the delays that can be expected to result. This can result in financial hardship for citizens. It can also result in very serious disruption of the agency operations due to large time and resource requirements for backlog processing. In such cases, the availability impact level would be at least moderate. In the case of permanent loss of records, the impact might even be high. 55 Recommended Availability Impact Level: The provisional availability impact level recommended for income information is moderate