Data Protection & Privacy Certificate Program
IDCYSE.DPP

Hands-on Training from Experts Live Online or Self-Paced

Sensitive federal information carries three sets of obligations at once: who may see it, how it must be marked and handled, and how long it must be kept. Learn to protect PII and PHI under the Privacy Act, recognize and mark CUI correctly, and manage federal records from creation through lawful disposition.

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This program includes

  • 13 hours of live, project-based training from experts
  • Software Access
  • Additional 1-on-1 mentoring outside of class
  • 1-on-1 bonus training
  • Retake for free within 1 year
  • Access to class recordings (30 days)
  • Verified digital certificate of completion
  • Learn at an accredited institution

This certificate program covers the three sets of rules that govern sensitive information in federal work. Privacy and PII/PHI Protection Awareness works through the Privacy Act of 1974, the difference between ordinary PII, sensitive PII, and protected health information, and what to do in the first hour after a suspected breach. CUI Handling and Data Classification covers the CUI Registry, CUI Basic versus CUI Specified, assembling and placing banner and portion markings, and safe storage, transmission, and destruction. Records and Information Governance closes the program with what makes something a federal record, how retention schedules work, why an unscheduled record cannot lawfully be destroyed, and how litigation holds suspend disposition.

The three were built to be taken together. Where the subject matter overlapped, the material was removed rather than repeated, so the records course does not re-teach privacy, FOIA, or CUI — it explains how one record can carry several obligations at once and has learners practice deciding which applies. The program also covers ground most compliance training skips: protected health information as non-clinical staff actually meet it in occupational health and workers' compensation files, chat platforms as a source of federal records, and current government-wide expectations for using CUI with AI tools. It suits federal employees, contractors, and detailees who handle sensitive information routinely, and assumes no prior background.

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Courses in this Certificate Program

This is the recommended order, but some courses may be taken in a different order.

Download Syllabus PDF

Unit 1 4 Hours

Privacy and PII/PHI Protection Awareness Course

A foundational, government-wide privacy course covering the Privacy Act, the identification of PII and PHI, safeguarding duties, and federal breach response.

  • The purpose and key requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 and related federal privacy guidance
  • Identifying PII and PHI correctly across a range of federal work contexts
  • Applying the Fair Information Practice Principles to everyday work
  • Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for handling, storing, and transmitting sensitive information
  • Reporting and responding to a suspected or confirmed privacy incident or breach
  • Individual roles and responsibilities in maintaining a culture of privacy protection

Unit 2 4 Hours

CUI Handling and Data Classification Course

A government-wide awareness course on the full CUI lifecycle: recognition, categories, marking, safe handling, destruction, incident reporting, and current expectations for CUI and AI.

  • What CUI is and how it differs from classified and public information
  • The government-wide legal and regulatory framework governing CUI
  • CUI Basic versus CUI Specified, and using the CUI Registry
  • Interpreting and assembling banner markings, plus portion marking
  • Need-to-know and safe handling across physical, electronic, and verbal forms
  • Approved storage, transmission, destruction, and sanitization methods
  • What to do when CUI is lost, mishandled, or improperly disclosed
  • Current government-wide expectations for using CUI with AI tools

Unit 3 6 Hours

Records and Information Governance Course

Federal recordkeeping at the intermediate level: identifying records, working the lifecycle, applying retention and disposition schedules, and managing records created electronically.

  • Federal records distinguished from non-record material, convenience copies, drafts and personal papers
  • The legal and policy basis for recordkeeping, and roles from employee to NARA
  • The records lifecycle and responsibilities at each stage
  • Adequate and proper documentation, and the failures that recur
  • Litigation holds and preservation duties
  • Unscheduled records, General Records Schedules and agency-specific schedules
  • Temporary versus permanent records and what happens at end of retention
  • Reporting duties after unauthorized or accidental destruction
  • Email, chat and collaboration platform messages as records
  • Metadata and good electronic recordkeeping practice
  • The intersections with privacy, FOIA and CUI
  • Recurring compliance activities and who to ask

Schedule & Enrollment: Data Protection & Privacy Certificate Program

  • 13 Hours
  • Price before discounts: $2,049 Full tuition: $1,639
  • Live Online
  • Free retake
  • Expert instructors
  • Software Access
  • 1:1 Mentoring included
  • Self-Paced More details
    Start anytime Online only
  • Custom Schedule
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