BREACH RESPONSE GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH
A breach is the unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of data by unauthorized persons. When a potential breach of research data has occurred or when notification of a breach is received from a research sponsor, vendor, or collaborator, the PI has various reporting obligations.
Mass General Brigham Research Information and Security has prepared guidelines to help PIs and their staff understand their incident reporting obligations and provide guidance for PIs and researchers to know what constitutes a breach, how to report a breach, their responsibilities, and the offices they should notify and work with to address a potential breach.
PIs and their staff should periodically review the Breach Response Guidelines for Research to remain up to date on the latest requirements. Every Mass General Brigham employee involved in a research project must be trained on the breach response guidelines. The PI, or their designee, is responsible for ensuring their staff are so trained. All researchers, not just the PI, are responsible for maintaining the integrity of their project data.