Draft_-_NFIP_Communications_Statement_of_Objectives_(SOO).pdf

DRAFT STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM COMMUNICATIONS

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Statement of Objectives (SOO) is to obtain customer communications contractor support services for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in support of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration’s (FIMA) moonshot goals of doubling the number of contracts in force, and quadrupling mitigation dollars spent. Both of these moonshot goals support the FEMA strategic goal of closing the insurance gap so survivors are more financial prepared to recover from a disaster.

BACKGROUND

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a range of program designed to reduce future losses to homes, businesses, schools, public buildings and critical facilities from floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.

FEMA’s Federal Insurance Directorate operates the NFIP, which was created by an Act of Congress in 1968. The NFIP makes flood insurance available to residents and businesses of participating communities that commit to sound flood plain management practices.

The NFIP sells and administers Standard Flood Insurance Policies in two ways:

1. Through an arrangement with private Write Your Own (WYO) insurance companies (under authority of 44 CFR Section 62.23); and

2. Through a contract with an entity that directly sells and services NFIP policies, the NFIP Direct servicing agent.

Since 1983, the Write Your Own (WYO) Program has become the primary vehicle for delivering and servicing flood insurance with participating insurance companies, who write nearly 80% of the NFIP’s policies in their own names. The Government bears the underwriting risk for WYO issued policies, and for the policies issued by the NFIP Direct.

The customer communications services shall supplement Federal, state, tribal and local government and private sector implementation of Federal statutes and regulations designed to require the purchase of flood insurance in certain circumstances. FEMA needs varied customer communications to improve citizens’ and communities’ understanding of the NFIP, the benefits of flood insurance, and to stimulate interest in and prompt consumer decision-making leading to the purchase and retention of sufficient amounts of flood insurance coverage. The NFIP’s FloodSmart.gov and Agents.FloodSmart.gov websites increase awareness of flood risk and encourage homeowners, renters, condominium owners, and business owners to purchase federally backed flood insurance.

FEMA STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

FEMA’s mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters, with a vision of building a more resilient Nation. The 2018-2022 Strategic Plan sets out three overarching Strategic Goals to help achieve this vision:

• Build a Culture of Preparedness: Every segment of our society, from individual to government, industry to philanthropy, must be encouraged and empowered with the information it needs to prepare for the inevitable impacts of future disasters.

• Ready the Nation for Catastrophic Disasters: FEMA will work with its partners across all levels of government to strengthen partnerships and access new sources of scalable capabilities to quickly meet the needs of overwhelming incidents.

• Reduce the Complexity of FEMA: FEMA must continue to be responsible stewards of the resources we are entrusted to administer. We must also do everything that we can to leverage data to drive decision-making, and reduce the administrative and bureaucratic burdens that impede impacted individuals and communities from quickly receiving the assistance they need.

FEDERAL INSURANCE UNIVERSAL OBJECTIVES

While the WYO companies and the NFIP’s contractors each have separate responsibilities supporting the NFIP, the success or failure of the NFIP hinges on the interaction and cooperation of all cohorts working as a team to ensure the smooth, seamless flow of information to all internal and external stakeholders and partners. FEMA must have a comprehensive, coordinated approach to delivering products and services to customers at all levels. A failure by a single entity at any level may lead to program failure. It is the responsibility of all contractors and WYO companies to participate as team members with all others. In acknowledgment of the importance of this interaction and cooperation, the Federal Insurance Division drafted Universal Objectives for all FID contractors to follow:

1. The NFIP is growing. As we close the nation’s insurance gap and double the number of structures covered by flood insurance by 2022, our support services must scale to meet the workload expected to deliver world-class operations, inclusive of day-to-day as well as response and recovery activities.

2. The NFIP must make it easier to sign up and maintain flood insurance. From forms, to rating, to the claims process, the NFIP must continue to evolve how it delivers the program to help close the insurance gap. All providers must directly contribute to improving the customer experience.

3. FEMA must reduce the complexity of the NFIP and increase the program’s transparency.

Leveraging process changes, improved communications, and new technology, FEMA must ensure that homeowners have insight, education, and confidence in the entire insurance lifecycle.

4. To ready the nation for catastrophic disaster, FEMA must build and sustain long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships and coalitions with public and private organizations to leverage capabilities and influence, extending the reach of the NFIP’s mission.

5. The NFIP must plan for and implement changes stemming from the reauthorization and other legislative and regulatory changes.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The NFIP requires a contractor that can provide a full-service integrated customer communications and public relations effort for the NFIP. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, services, and otherwise do all things necessary to achieve the objectives contained in this SOO. The Contractor shall bring expertise in decision sciences and behavioral sciences to help shape, develop and deliver the communications strategy, and provide inputs to products and services of the

NFIP.

The Contractor shall be able to recommend and use all available current and future outreach formats such as digital, broadcast, print, mobile, out of home (OOH), direct mail and others as needed by the government. The Contractor is responsible for providing expertise in all aspects of communications, marketing, advertising, public relations and other related fields. As the industry successfully uses new products and services, the Contractor will continue to assess their capabilities to determine if they can be incorporated in the communication strategy. The Contractor shall conduct ongoing research of current customer communication trends to make recommended updates to the strategy. The Contractor shall implement strategic and tactical adjustments as needed and required by the government.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, GOALS, AND OUTCOMES

The Offeror’s proposed solutions must demonstrate innovation, flexibility, subject matter expertise, and increasing efficiencies while delivering increased effectiveness given the government is continuing resource constraints. Details concerning the NFIP and Flood Insurance Processing can be found at http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program.

OBJECTIVE 1 – Lessen individuals’ personal risk by closing the nation’s insurance gap and focusing on financial preparedness. Use marketing and behavioral science to improve individuals’ and communities’ understanding of their risk, communicate the value of insurance, and driving specific actions that reduce risk, including the purchase or retention of a flood insurance policy.

• Leverage data analytics and behavioral science to better inform and target marketing approach and coordinate with other NFIP partners to embrace industry-standard customer experience models (ie. online sales, mobile claims through phone app, agents at the call center, etc).

OBJECTIVE 2 – Create and promote clear, consistent communication assets for the national flood insurance program to improve customer service, reduce the complexity of the NFIP, and increase the program’s transparency.

• Leverage partnerships, technical NFIP expertise, and plain language practices to coordinate, integrate, and consistently communicate different aspects of the NFIP in both daily and disaster operations.

http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program

OBJECTIVE 3 – Develop, build, and sustain stakeholder engagements and partnerships to leverage capabilities and influence for enhanced messaging and marketing of the NFIP.

• Supporting development and sustain long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships and coalitions with public and private organizations to leverage capabilities and influence, extending the reach of the NFIP’s mission.

PARAMETERS

• The Contractor shall design a program to encourage agents, WYO companies, or other stakeholders to develop effective local outreach strategies for communicating flood risk and flood mitigation options including the purchase of flood insurance.

• The Contractor shall be able to provide labor, creative concepts, and text for direct mail, based on approved customer communications strategies. If used, direct mail pieces will have a tracking component, so the Contractor can determine which market area was successful.

• The Contractor shall edit, continuously update, and capture changes to NFIP guidance documents, such as, manuals, bulletins, publications, etc. in a readily accessible electronic format.

• The Contractor maybe required to support the NFIP as its communications experts at conferences such as National Flood Conference, the Association of State Floodplain Managers and other appropriate national, regional, and state insurance and related industry conferences, conventions and meetings upon consultation with the government.

• The customer communications solution must include the continued functionality of the FloodSmart.gov and Agents.FloodSmart.gov websites.

• All materials (including databases, metrics, documents) developed are the property of the Government. The Contractor shall not develop materials that limit the government’s current or future distribution of those products.

• Some materials developed require substantive, multi-level concurrence from many offices within FEMA, as well as Department of Homeland Security and External Affairs. Timelines for delivery should accommodate the review process.

• The solution must meet the required communication needs of special audiences such as closed captioning, large print, Braille, etc. All materials developed must be compliant with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act. In addition, the Contractor must consider non-English speaking audiences in the solution and consult with FEMA during project planning to discuss making materials available in multiple languages.

• IT architecture must be consistent and stay current with FEMA enterprise architecture. In addition, any IT systems used to collect FEMA data in the performance of this contract shall meet DHS/FEMA Security requirements and be certified and accredited, as required, in coordination with the FEMA CIO Security Branch, unless otherwise waived by the appropriate FEMA official.

• FEMA requires the hosting of online content that is not considered training, but is informational in nature. This informational content may provide in-depth guidance on NFIP program changes or provide historical insights to the NFIP. The Contractor should be prepared to host video or other informational content to support FEMA’s efforts to inform stakeholders from every experience level. The Contractor should also be prepared to establish links to NFIP online training courses hosted by FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s (EMI) Distance Learning Center/Independent Study Program or other future solutions. In this effort, the Contractor will be required to work with other NFIP contractors, EMI and FEMA to ensure timely content publishing and to support follow-up and maintenance of the content. The Contractor may also be required to host online surveys and results in coordination with FEMA’s training contractor.

• The solution shall demonstrate an understanding of the need to coordinate with NFIP IT Systems and Services to reconcile data anomalies due to the NFIP IT Systems and Services transition.

• The Contractor must transfer/share any final data analysis generated over the course of the contract with other FEMA contractor(s).

TRANSITION REQUIREMENTS

TRANSITION-OUT

• The Contractor shall support a phase out or transition of services upon contract completion and shall cooperate with FEMA and/or any successor(s).

• The Contractor shall participate in transition activities including planning sessions, briefings, demonstrations, training, and ad hoc information sharing.

• The Contractor shall prepare a final report outlining all work accomplished under the contract, document lessons learned to include problems encountered and their solution, and make recommendations regarding the future performance of the services.

• To facilitate the transition to FEMA or a successor, the Contractor shall allow FEMA and/or other contractor staff reasonable access, as determined by the CO, to the staff and facilities of the Contractor.

CONSTRAINTS

• Perform regular back-ups of all data and/or files created or changed on as deemed appropriate for the level of risk posed by data loss.

• Identify and propose to meet business continuity objectives as described in the DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook inclusive of the long-term secure data storage of magnetic and optical media. The storage facility shall have the capability of delivering the backed-up system to a pre-selected backup or alternate processing site within 24-hour notice. The contractor shall describe restricted access to the back-up site in the Security Plan and in the Certification and Accreditation (C&A) review and process.

APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The following is a list of guidance, regulations, documents and offices related to the National Flood Insurance Program:

• Regulations governing the National Flood Insurance Program set forth in Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, Subchapter B, commencing at part 59.

• All National Flood Insurance statutes and regulations

• National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (As Amended)

• Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (As Amended)

• Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014

• Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012

• National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994

• Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004

• Government Paperwork Elimination Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Disabilities Act

• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act the Clinger-Cohen Act

• Government Information Security Reform Act

• Government Performance and Results Act

• Federal Records Act

• Computer Security Act

• Title 44, Government Printing and Binding

• Public Law 90-448

• Public Law 93-234

• Public Law 103-325

• Public Law 108-264

• Federal and State Privacy Acts

DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

Deliverable Frequency Due Date

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance shall be at the Contractor’s site within the continental United States.

The Contractor may be required to attend meetings in the Washington metropolitan area and possibly in disaster Joint Field Offices. Alternate places of performance shall be communicated and approved by the

CO.

Accessibility Requirements (Section 508)

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-

220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology (EIT), they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have equal access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that enjoyed by non-disabled Federal employees and members of the public.

All EIT deliverables within this work statement shall comply with the applicable technical and functional performance criteria of Section 508 unless exempt. Specifically, the following applicable EIT accessibility standards have been identified:

Section 508 Applicable EIT Accessibility Standards

36 CFR 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems, applies to all EIT software applications and operating systems procured or developed under this work statement including but not limited to GOTS and COTS software. In addition, this standard is to be applied to Web-based applications when needed to fulfill the functional performance criteria. This standard also applies to some Web based applications as described within 36 CFR 1194.22.

36 CFR 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications, applies to all Web-based deliverables, including documentation and reports procured or developed under this work statement.

When any Web application uses a dynamic (non-static) interface, embeds custom user control(s),embeds video or multimedia, uses proprietary or technical approaches such as, but not limited to, Flash or Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX) then 1194.21 Software standards also apply to fulfill functional performance criteria.

36 CFR 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products, applies to all video and multimedia products that are procured or developed under this work statement. Any video or multimedia presentation shall also comply with the software standards (1194.21) when the presentation is through the use of a Web or Software application interface having user controls available.

36 CFR 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria, applies to all EIT deliverables regardless of delivery method. All EIT deliverable shall use technical standards, regardless of technology, to fulfill the functional performance criteria.

36 CFR 1194.41 Information Documentation and Support, applies to all documents, reports, as well as help and support services. To ensure that documents and reports fulfill the required 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria, they shall comply with the technical standard associated with Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications at a minimum. In addition, any help or support provided in this work statement that offer telephone support, such as, but not limited to, a help desk shall have the ability to transmit and receive messages using TTY.

Section 508 Applicable Exceptions

Exceptions for this work statement have been determined by DHS and only the exceptions described herein may be applied. Any request for additional exceptions shall be sent to the COR and a determination will be made in accordance with DHS MD 4010.2. DHS has identified the following exceptions that may apply: 36 CFR 1194.3(b) Incidental to Contract, all EIT that is exclusively owned and used by the contractor to fulfill this work statement does not require compliance with Section 508. This exception does not apply to any EIT deliverable, service or item that will be used by any Federal employee(s) or member(s) of the public. This exception only applies to those contractors assigned to fulfill the obligations of this work statement and for the purposes of this requirement, are not considered members of the public.

Section 508 Compliance Requirements

36 CFR 1194.2(b) (COTS/GOTS products), When procuring a product, each agency shall procure products which comply with the provisions in this part when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a Government solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product as a whole is not commercially available because no product in the marketplace meets all the standards. If products are commercially available that meet some but not all of the standards, the agency must procure the product that best meets the standards. When applying this standard, all procurements of EIT shall have documentation of market research that identify a list of products or services that first meet the agency business needs, and from that list of products or services, an analysis that the selected product met more of the accessibility requirements than the non-selected products as required by FAR 39.2. Any selection of a product or service that meets less accessibility standards due to a significant difficulty or expense shall only be permitted under an undue burden claim and requires authorization from the DHS Office of Accessible Systems and Technology (OAST) in accordance with DHS MD 4010.2.

SECURITY

Comply with Security Assurance Requirements

The Contractor shall demonstrate and maintain full compliance with each of the specific controls listed below, per DHS 4300A and required Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and/or FedRAMP baseline controls. Additionally, Contractors will be required to develop and implement a plan to mitigate any weaknesses related to these controls.

a) Implement and Maintain Access Controls

b) Implement and Maintain Awareness and Training Controls

c) Implement and Maintain Audit and Accountability Controls

d) Implement and Maintain Security Assessment and Authorization Controls

e) Implement and Maintain Configuration Management Controls

f) Implement and Maintain Contingency Planning Controls

g) Implement and Maintain Identification and Authentication Controls

h) Implement and Maintain Incident Response Controls

i) Implement and Maintain Maintenance Controls

j) Implement and Maintain Media Protection Controls

k) Implement and Maintain Physical and Environmental Protection Controls

l) Implement and Maintain Planning Controls

m) Implement and Maintain Personnel Security Controls

n) Implement and Maintain Risk Assessment Controls

o) Implement and Maintain System and Services Acquisition Controls

p) Implement and Maintain System and Communications Protection Controls

q) Implement and Maintain System and Information Integrity Controls

Provide User Authentication and Secure Connections as Identified FEMAs OCIO is implementing single sign on solutions for all FEMA IT systems internal and external. At a minimum, upon contract award, the vendor shall demonstrate the ability to provide a range of authentication and secure connection solutions to which can include, but are not limited to:

a) Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML2)

b) Active Directory;

c) Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP);

d) Secure Socket Layer (SSL);

e) Secure Shell (SSH);

f) Kerberos;

g) RACF;

h) HSPD-12/Token; and

i) Long-term, token-based authentication for partners viewers

Additional authentication and secure connection solutions may be identified throughout the period of performance of this contract.

Establish and Maintain Security and Privacy

The Contractor shall maintain continuous compliance with security and privacy as identified in the NIST 800-53(a), the DHS 4300a, Federal Information Security Act (FISMA) and FEDRAMP security guidelines (Attachment A) as well as any other risks identified by FEMA OCIO during the term of the contract. This includes providing prompt responses to all security questions posed by the PMO, ISSO, or auditors, along with providing security artifacts and statements. The most specific security requirement for the PMO at this time is the alignment to the NIST 800-53 Rev 4 and DHS 4300A.

Protect Intellectual Property Rights

The Contractor shall ensure the protection of FEMA intellectual property (IP) and data ownership rights and those of any licensors.

Prohibit and Actively Prevent Adware, Spam, and Remarketing of Information

The Contractor shall not engage in nor permit its agents to push adware, software, or marketing not explicitly authorized by FEMA. The Contractor and/or their agents shall not resell nor otherwise redistribute information gained from its access to FEMA systems, applications, tools, data, or information.

Support Unique Compliance Requirements

The Contractor shall comply with unique security and regulatory requirements that systems are subject to beyond those that FEMA is subject to. These regulations may include, but are not limited to:

a) Ability to provide forensics on the roaming profiles of virtual desktop users

b) Adherence to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements

c) Adherence to Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) 250 regulations and Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act

d) Adherence to any restrictions placed on proprietary data stored by the Department

e) Adherence to any litigation hold requirements currently in place or that may be imposed in the future

f) All solutions and services shall meet FEMA Enterprise Architecture (EA) policies, standards, and procedures. Specifically, the Contractor shall comply with the following FEMA EA requirements:

• All developed solutions and requirements shall be compliant with the FEMA EA.

• All IT hardware and software shall be compliant with the FEMA EA Technical Reference Model (TRM) Standards and Products Profile.

• Description information for all data assets, information exchanges and data standards, whether adopted or developed, shall be submitted to the FEMA Enterprise Data Management Office (EDMO) for review, approval and insertion into the FEMA Data Reference Model and Enterprise Architecture Information Repository.

• Development of data assets, information exchanges, and data standards will comply with the DHS Data Management Policy MD 103-01 and all data-related artifacts will be developed and validated according to DHS data management architectural guidelines.

• Applicability of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) to DHS-related components (networks, infrastructure, and applications) specific to individual acquisitions shall be in accordance with the DHS Enterprise Architecture (per OMB Memorandum M- 05-22, August 2, 2005) regardless of whether the acquisition is for modification, upgrade, or replacement. All EA-related component acquisitions shall be IPv6 compliant as defined in the U.S.

Government Version 6 (USGv6) Profile (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 500-267) and the corresponding declarations of conformance defined in the USGv6 Test Program.

SAFEGUARDING OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION (MAR 2015)

Applicability. This clause applies to the Contractor, its subcontractors, and Contractor employees (hereafter referred to collectively as “Contractor”). The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause in all subcontracts.

Definitions. As used in this clause—

1. “Personally Identifiable Information (PII)” means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as name, social security number, or biometric records, either alone, or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual, such as date and place of birth, or mother’s maiden name. The definition of PII is not anchored to any single category of information or technology. Rather, it requires a case-by-case assessment of the specific risk that an individual can be identified. In performing this assessment, it is important for an agency to recognize that non-personally identifiable information can become personally identifiable information whenever additional information is made publicly available—in any medium and from any source—that, combined with other available information, could be used to identify an individual.

a. PII is a subset of sensitive information. Examples of PII include, but are not limited to:

name, date of birth, mailing address, telephone number, Social Security number (SSN), email address, zip code, account numbers, certificate/license numbers, vehicle identifiers including license plates, uniform resource locators (URLs), static Internet protocol addresses, biometric identifiers such as fingerprint, voiceprint, iris scan, photographic facial images, or any other unique identifying number or characteristic, and any information where it is reasonably foreseeable that the information will be linked with other information to identify the individual.

2. “Sensitive Information” is defined in HSAR clause 3052.204-71, Contractor Employee Access, as any information, which if lost, misused, disclosed, or, without authorization is accessed, or modified, could adversely affect the national or homeland security interest, the conduct of Federal programs, or the privacy to which individuals are entitled under section 552a of Title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act), but which has not been specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order or an Act of Congress to be kept secret in the interest of national defense, homeland security or foreign policy.

a. This definition includes the following categories of information:

i. Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) as set out in the Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002 (Title II, Subtitle B, of the Homeland Security Act, Public Law 107-296, 196 Stat. 2135), as amended, the implementing regulations thereto (Title 6, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 29) as amended, the applicable PCII Procedures Manual, as amended, and any supplementary guidance officially communicated by an authorized official of the Department of Homeland Security (including the PCII Program Manager or his/her designee);

ii. Sensitive Security Information (SSI), as defined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1520, as amended, “Policies and Procedures of Safeguarding and Control of SSI,” as amended, and any supplementary guidance officially communicated by an authorized official of the Department of Homeland Security (including the Assistant Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration or his/her designee);

iii. Information designated as “For Official Use Only,” which is unclassified information of a sensitive nature and the unauthorized disclosure of which could adversely impact a person’s privacy or welfare, the conduct of Federal programs, or other programs or operations essential to the national or homeland security interest; and

iv. Any information that is designated “sensitive” or subject to other controls, safeguards or protections in accordance with subsequently adopted homeland security information handling procedures.

b. “Sensitive Information Incident” is an incident that includes the known, potential, or suspected exposure, loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or unauthorized access or attempted access of any Government system, Contractor system, or sensitive information.

3. Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (SPII)” is a subset of PII, which if lost, compromised or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual. Some forms of PII are sensitive as stand-alone elements. Examples of such PII include: Social Security numbers (SSN), driver’s license or state identification number, Alien Registration Numbers (A-number), financial account number, and biometric identifiers such as fingerprint, voiceprint, or iris scan. Additional examples include any groupings of information that contain an individual’s name or other unique identifier plus one or more of the following elements:

a. Truncated SSN (such as last 4 digits)

b. Date of birth (month, day, and year)

c. Citizenship or immigration status

d. Ethnic or religious affiliation

e. Sexual orientation

f. Criminal History

g. Medical Information

h. System authentication information such as mother’s maiden name, account passwords or personal identification numbers (PIN)

4. Other PII may be “sensitive” depending on its context, such as a list of employees and their performance ratings or an unlisted home address or phone number. In contrast, a business card or public telephone directory of agency employees contains PII but is not sensitive.

Authorities. The Contractor shall follow all current versions of Government policies and guidance accessible at http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-security-and-training-requirements-contractors, or available upon request from the Contracting Officer, including but not limited to:

1. DHS Management Directive 11042.1 Safeguarding Sensitive But Unclassified (for Official Use Only) Information

2. DHS Sensitive Systems Policy Directive 4300A

3. DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook and Attachments

4. DHS Security Authorization Process Guide http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-security-and-training-requirements-contractors http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-security-and-training-requirements-contractors

5. DHS Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information

6. DHS Instruction Handbook 121-01-007 Department of Homeland Security Personnel Suitability and Security Program

7. DHS Information Security Performance Plan (current fiscal year)

8. DHS Privacy Incident Handling Guidance

9. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules accessible at http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/standards.html

10. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations accessible at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html

11. NIST Special Publication 800-88 Guidelines for Media Sanitization accessible at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html

Handling of Sensitive Information. Contractor compliance with this clause, as well as the policies and procedures described below, is required.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies and procedures on Contractor personnel security requirements are set forth in various Management Directives (MDs), Directives, and Instructions. MD 11042.1, Safeguarding Sensitive But Unclassified (For Official Use Only) Information describes how Contractors must handle sensitive but unclassified information. DHS uses the term “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” to identify sensitive but unclassified information that is not otherwise categorized by statute or regulation. Examples of sensitive information that are categorized by statute or regulation are PCII, SSI, etc. The DHS Sensitive Systems Policy Directive 4300A and the DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook provide the policies and procedures on security for Information Technology (IT) resources. The DHS Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information provides guidelines to help safeguard SPII in both paper and electronic form. DHS Instruction Handbook 121-01-007 Department of Homeland Security Personnel Suitability and Security Program establishes procedures, program responsibilities, minimum standards, and reporting protocols for the DHS Personnel Suitability and Security Program.

1. The Contractor shall not use or redistribute any sensitive information processed, stored, and/or transmitted by the Contractor except as specified in the contract.

2. All Contractor employees with access to sensitive information shall execute DHS Form 11000-6, Department of Homeland Security Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), as a condition of access to such information. The Contractor shall maintain signed copies of the NDA for all employees as a record of compliance. The Contractor shall provide copies of the signed NDA to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) no later than two (2) days after execution of the form.

3. The Contractor’s invoicing, billing, and other recordkeeping systems maintained to support financial or other administrative functions shall not maintain SPII. It is acceptable to maintain in these systems the names, titles and contact information for the COR or other Government http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/standards.html http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/standards.html http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html personnel associated with the administration of the contract, as needed.

4. Authority to Operate. The Contractor shall not input, store, process, output, and/or transmit sensitive information within a Contractor IT system without an Authority to Operate (ATO) signed by the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, in consultation with the Headquarters or Component Privacy Officer. Unless otherwise specified in the ATO letter, the ATO is valid for three (3) years. The Contractor shall adhere to current Government policies, procedures, and guidance for the Security Authorization (SA) process as defined below.

5. Complete the Security Authorization process. The SA process shall proceed according to the DHS Sensitive Systems Policy Directive 4300A (Version 11.0, April 30, 2014), or any successor publication, DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook (Version 9.1, July 24, 2012), or any successor publication, and the Security Authorization Process Guide including templates.

Security Authorization Process Documentation. SA documentation shall be developed using the Government provided Requirements Traceability Matrix and Government security documentation templates. SA documentation consists of the following: Security Plan, Contingency Plan, Contingency Plan Test Results, Configuration Management Plan, Security Assessment Plan, Security Assessment Report, and Authorization to Operate Letter. Additional documents that may be required include a Plan(s) of Action and Milestones and Interconnection Security Agreement(s). During the development of SA documentation, the Contractor shall submit a signed SA package, validated by an independent third party, to the COR for acceptance by the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of operation of the IT system. The Government is the final authority on the compliance of the SA package and may limit the number of resubmissions of a modified SA package. Once the ATO has been accepted by the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, the Contracting Officer shall incorporate the ATO into the contract as a compliance document. The Government’s acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor’s responsibility to ensure the IT system controls are implemented and operating effectively.

Independent Assessment. Contractors shall have an independent third party validate the security and privacy controls in place for the system(s). The independent third party shall review and analyze the SA package, and report on technical, operational, and management level deficiencies as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-53 Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. The Contractor shall address all deficiencies before submitting the SA package to the Government for acceptance.

Support the completion of the Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA) as needed. As part of the SA process, the Contractor may be required to support the Government in the completion of the PTA. The requirement to complete a PTA is triggered by the creation, use, modification, upgrade, or disposition of a Contractor IT system that will store, maintain and use PII, and must be renewed at least every three (3) years. Upon review of the PTA, the DHS Privacy Office determines whether a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and/or Privacy Act System of Records Notice (SORN), or modifications thereto, are required. The Contractor shall provide all support necessary to assist the Department in completing the PIA in a timely manner and shall ensure that project management plans and schedules include time for the completion of the PTA, PIA, and SORN (to the extent required) as milestones. Support in this context includes responding timely to requests for information from the Government about the use, access, storage, and maintenance of PII on the Contractor’s system, and providing timely review of relevant compliance documents for factual accuracy. Information on the DHS privacy compliance process, including PTAs, PIAs, and SORNs, is accessible at http://www.dhs.gov/privacy- compliance.

Renewal of ATO. Unless otherwise specified in the ATO letter, the ATO shall be renewed every three (3) years. The Contractor is required to update its SA package as part of the ATO renewal process. The Contractor shall update its SA package by one of the following methods:

1. Updating the SA documentation in the DHS automated information assurance tool for acceptance by the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, at least 90 days before the ATO expiration date for review and verification of security controls; or

2. Submitting an updated SA package directly to the COR for approval by the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, at least 90 days before the ATO expiration date for review and verification of security controls. The 90 day review process is independent of the system production date and therefore it is important that the Contractor build the review into project schedules. The reviews may include onsite visits that involve physical or logical inspection of the Contractor environment to ensure controls are in place.

Security Review. The Government may elect to conduct random periodic reviews to ensure that the security requirements contained in this contract are being implemented and enforced. The Contractor shall afford DHS, the Office of the Inspector General, and other Government organizations access to the Contractor’s facilities, installations, operations, documentation, databases and personnel used in the performance of this contract. The Contractor shall, through the Contracting Officer and COR, contact the Headquarters or Component CIO, or designee, to coordinate and participate in review and inspection activity by Government organizations external to the DHS. Access shall be provided, to the extent necessary as determined by the Government, for the Government to carry out a program of inspection, investigation, and audit to safeguard against threats and hazards to the integrity, availability and confidentiality of Government data or the function of computer systems used in performance of this contract and to preserve evidence of computer crime.

Continuous Monitoring. All Contractor-operated systems that input, store, process, output, and/or transmit sensitive information shall meet or exceed the continuous monitoring requirements identified in the Fiscal Year 2014 DHS Information Security Performance Plan, or successor publication. The plan is updated on an annual basis. The Contractor shall also store monthly continuous monitoring data at its location for a period not less than one year from the date the data is created. The data shall be encrypted in accordance with FIPS 140-2 Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules and shall not be stored on systems that are shared with other commercial or Government entities. The Government may elect to perform continuous monitoring and IT security scanning of Contractor systems from Government tools and infrastructure.

Revocation of ATO. In the event of a sensitive information incident, the Government may suspend or revoke an existing ATO (either in part or in whole). If an ATO is suspended or revoked in accordance with this provision, the Contracting Officer may direct the Contractor to take additional security measures to secure sensitive information. These measures may include restricting access to sensitive information on the Contractor IT system under this contract. Restricting access may include disconnecting the system processing, storing, or transmitting the sensitive information from the Internet or other networks or applying additional security controls.

Federal Reporting Requirements. Contractors operating information systems on behalf of the http://www.dhs.gov/privacy-http://www.dhs.gov/privacy-

Government or operating systems containing sensitive information shall comply with Federal reporting requirements. Annual and quarterly data collection will be coordinated by the Government.

Contractors shall provide the COR with requested information within three (3) business days of receipt of the request. Reporting requirements are determined by the Government and are defined in the Fiscal Year 2014 DHS Information Security Performance Plan, or successor publication. The Contractor shall provide the Government with all information to fully satisfy Federal reporting requirements for Contractor systems.

Sensitive Information Incident Reporting Requirements.

1. All known or suspected sensitive information incidents shall be reported to the Headquarters or Component Security Operations Center (SOC) within one hour of discovery in accordance with 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook Incident Response and Reporting requirements. When notifying the Headquarters or Component SOC, the Contractor shall also notify the Contracting Officer, COR, Headquarters or Component Privacy Officer, and US-CERT using the contact information identified in the contract. If the incident is reported by phone or the Contracting Officer’s email address is not immediately available, the Contractor shall contact the Contracting Officer immediately after reporting the incident to the Headquarters or Component SOC. The Contractor shall not include any sensitive information in the subject or body of any e-mail. To transmit sensitive information, the Contractor shall use FIPS 140-2 Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules compliant encryption methods to protect sensitive information in attachments to email. Passwords shall not be communicated in the same email as the attachment. A sensitive information incident shall not, by itself, be interpreted as evidence that the Contractor has failed to provide adequate information security safeguards for sensitive information, or has otherwise failed to meet the requirements of the contract.

2. If a sensitive information incident involves PII or SPII, in addition to the reporting requirements in 4300A Sensitive Systems Handbook Incident Response and Reporting, Contractors shall also provide as many of the following data elements that are available at the time the incident is reported, with any remaining data elements provided within 24 hours of submission of the initial incident report:

• Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS);

• Contract numbers affected unless all contracts by the company are affected;

• Facility CAGE code if the location of the event is different than the prime contractor location; Point of contact (POC) if different than the POC recorded in the System for Award Management (address, position, telephone, email);

• Contracting Officer POC (address, telephone, email); Contract clearance level;

• Name of subcontractor and CAGE code if this was an incident on a subcontractor network; Government programs, platforms or systems involved;

• Location(s) of incident;

• Date and time the incident was discovered;

• Server names where sensitive information resided at the time of the incident, both at the Contractor and subcontractor level;

• Description of the Government PII and/or SPII contained within the system;

• Number of people potentially affected and the estimate or actual number of records exposed and/or contained within the system; and

• Any additional information relevant to the incident.

Sensitive Information Incident Response Requirements.

All determinations related to sensitive information incidents, including response activities, notifications to affected individuals and/or Federal agencies, and related services (e.g., credit monitoring) will be made in writing by the Contracting Officer in consultation with the Headquarters or Component CIO and Headquarters or Component Privacy Officer.

The Contractor shall provide full access and cooperation for all activities determined by the Government to be required to ensure an effective incident response, including providing all requested images, log files, and event information to facilitate rapid resolution of sensitive information incidents.

Incident response activities determined to be required by the Government may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Inspections, Investigations, Forensic reviews, and

• Data analyses and processing.

The Government, at its sole discretion, may obtain the assistance from other Federal agencies and/or third-party firms to aid in incident response activities.

Additional PII and/or SPII Notification Requirements.

The Contractor shall have in place procedures and the capability to notify any individual whose PII resided in the Contractor IT system at the time of the sensitive information incident not later than 5 business days after being directed to notify individuals, unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer. The method and content of any notification by the Contractor shall be coordinated with, and subject to prior written approval by the Contracting Officer, in consultation with the Headquarters or Component Privacy Officer, utilizing the DHS Privacy Incident Handling Guidance. The Contractor shall not proceed with notification unless the Contracting Officer, in consultation with the Headquarters or Component Privacy Officer, has determined in writing that notification is appropriate.

Subject to Government analysis of the incident and the terms of its instructions to the Contractor regarding any resulting notification, the notification method may consist of letters to affected individuals sent by first class mail, electronic means, or general public notice, as approved by the Government.

Notification may require the Contractor’s use of address verification and/or address location services. At a minimum, the notification shall include:

• A brief description of the incident;

• A description of the types of PII and SPII involved;

• A statement as to whether the PII or SPII was…