HIPAA, based on the research of Latanya Sweeny and established privacy industry metrics. Additionally, many other countries have enacted their own legislature regarding data privacy protection, and more are still in the process of doing so. Confidential business information The confidentiality of sensitive business information is established through non-disclosure agreements, a legally binding contract between two parties in a professional relationship. NDAs may be one-way, such as in the case of an employee receiving confidential information about the employing organization, or two-way between businesses needing to share information with one another to accomplish a business goal. Depending on the severity of consequences, a violation of non-disclosure may result in employment loss, loss of business and client contacts, criminal charges or a civil lawsuit, and a hefty sum in damages. When NDAs are signed between employer and employee at the initiation of employment, a non-compete clause may be a part of the agreement as an added protection of sensitive business information, where the employee agrees not to work for competitors or start their own competing business within a certain time or geographical limit. Unlike personal and private information, there is no internationally recognized framework protecting trade secrets, or even an agreed-upon definition of the term “trade secret”. However, many countries and political jurisdictions have taken the initiative to account for the violation of commercial confidentiality in their criminal or civil laws. For example, under the US Economic Espionage Act of 1996, it is a federal crime in the United States to misappropriate trade secrets with the knowledge that it will benefit a foreign power, or will injure the owner of the trade secret. More commonly, breach of commercial confidentiality falls under civil law, such as in the United Kingdom. In some developing countries, trade secret laws are either non-existent or poorly developed and offer little substantial protection. Classified information In many countries, unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a criminal offence, and may be punishable by fines, prison sentence, or even the death penalty, depending on the severity of the violation. For less severe violations, civil sanctions may be imposed, ranging from reprimand to revoking of security clearance and subsequent termination of employment. Whistleblowing is the intentional disclosure of sensitive information to a third-party with the intention of revealing alleged illegal, immoral, or otherwise harmful actions. There are many examples of present and former government employees disclosing classified information regarding national