What is PII Data? Personally Identifiable Information Explained

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A professional-level summary covering key definitions, frameworks, and exam-relevant points.

PII Categories and Examples

Category	Examples	Risk Level
Direct identifiers	Full name, national ID, passport number, SSN	Very high
Contact information	Email address, phone number, home address	High
Financial data	Bank account number, credit card number, tax ID	Very high
Biometric data	Fingerprints, facial recognition, DNA	Very high
Health data	Medical records, diagnoses, prescriptions (PHI)	Very high
Quasi-identifiers	Date of birth, postcode, gender, job title	Medium (high when combined)
Online identifiers	IP address, cookies, device IDs, location data	Medium to high

CDMP Exam Relevance

PII is a key concept in the Data Security knowledge area (6% of the CDMP exam) and is also relevant to Data Governance (policies for PII handling) and Data Lifecycle Management (retention and disposal of PII). Key exam topics include: the definition of PII and examples, the difference between direct and indirect PII, the regulatory requirements for PII under GDPR and other regulations, and the governance practices needed to protect PII (classification, access control, encryption, retention policies, breach notification).

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