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GCN Home > 07/24/06 web stories

DHS’ new chief privacy officer gets no honeymoon

By Wilson P. Dizard III, GCN Staff

Homeland Security Department secretary Michael Chertoff has filled one of the gaps in the department’s ranks of permanent senior officials by appointing Hugo Teufel III chief privacy officer. Teufel’s appointment prompted immediate criticism from privacy advocates at the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Teufel moved to the chief privacy officer job from his position as associate general counsel for DHS, where he focused on acquisition issues.

Teufel previously was associate solicitor for the Department of the Interior. He formerly worked as deputy solicitor general for the state of Colorado and as an attorney in private practice.

Teufel succeeds acting chief privacy officer Maureen Cooney, who had taken over the work from Nuala O’Connor Kelly in Sept. 2005. Kelly moved on to the chief privacy officer position at the General Electric Co.

Chertoff praised his new privacy chief, saying, “Hugo is an outstanding professional, whom I have counted on for steady judgment and sound advice as the department’s associate general counsel. Hugo is highly regarded throughout the department and the legal community for his expertise on privacy, employee relations and civil rights issues.”

Chertoff said he looked forward to Teufel’s contributions to the task of growing a culture of privacy protection at DHS.

Teufel has been a member of the Federalist Society, an association of conservatives, since 1996 as well as chairman of the Colorado Lawyers chapter of the organization.

One of Teufel’s published works showing a knowledge and inclination in the field of privacy policy is “Expanded Use of Nondisclosure Agreements an Administrative Solution to National Security Leaks,” published in the Administrative Law Journal in March 1990.

National privacy organizations criticized the appointment. Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said, “We don’t think he’s qualified. He lacks relevant experience in privacy policy. The two former chief privacy officers at DHS both had extensive backgrounds in privacy law. Our concern is that the chief privacy officer needs to be a forceful, independent advocate for privacy within the department and not a former deputy to a secretary.

More news on related topics: Homeland Security, IT Management



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