What is the purpose of privacy impact assessments (PIA) in Annex F?

• A. Evaluate privacy risks of processing personal data and mitigate.
• B. Audit financial data storage.
• C. Ensure system uptime requirements.
• D. Verify vendor certifications.

Answer: (A)

Privacy impact assessments are a structured process to identify and mitigate privacy risks that come from processing personal data. In Annex F, the purpose is to examine how data is collected, used, shared, stored, and disposed of, to understand potential harms to individuals’ privacy and to put in place safeguards that reduce those risks before the system or project goes live. This includes evaluating what data is being processed, for what purposes, who has access, how long it’s kept, and what security measures are in place, then documenting the risks and the actions taken to mitigate them. The goal is to show that privacy considerations are built in from the start and that there’s a clear plan to protect individuals’ information.

The other options describe activities that aren’t about identifying and reducing privacy risks: auditing financial data storage focuses on financial controls, ensuring system uptime concerns availability, and verifying vendor certifications relates to supplier qualifications.