There is a rising effort to protect personally identifiable information (PII).  For instance, the OMB provided new guidance under 2 CFR Chapter Part 200 which requires entities receiving federal grant funds to take reasonable measures to safeguard such information.  The new reforms define PII as information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that can be linked to a specific individual.  However, there is no silver bullet with respect to whether any given information is in fact PII. Certain instances will require a case-by-case analysis based on the facts and circumstance of the situation. All in all, these newer requirements on grantees may require grantees to implement tighter controls.