Which items are considered personal identifying information?

Which items are considered personal identifying information?

• A. Name
• B. Date of birth
• C. SSN
• D. All of the above

Answer: (D)

Personal identifying information includes any data that can identify an individual or be used to access their records. A name identifies a specific person, and a date of birth helps distinguish one person from others, especially when names are common. A Social Security number is a highly sensitive, unique identifier that directly ties to official records. Because each of these items qualifies as PII on its own, the option that lists all of them is the best answer. In practice, agencies protect these pieces of information to prevent identity theft and privacy violations, and even seemingly less sensitive items like a name or date of birth are treated as PII because they can be combined with other data to identify or verify someone.

Personal identifying information includes any data that can identify an individual or be used to access their records. A name identifies a specific person, and a date of birth helps distinguish one person from others, especially when names are common. A Social Security number is a highly sensitive, unique identifier that directly ties to official records. Because each of these items qualifies as PII on its own, the option that lists all of them is the best answer. In practice, agencies protect these pieces of information to prevent identity theft and privacy violations, and even seemingly less sensitive items like a name or date of birth are treated as PII because they can be combined with other data to identify or verify someone.