Data Classification
Categorizing data based on the sensitivity of the information
The classification is decided by the data owner
More money and resources need to be spend on data that is highly sensitive
Classification Schema depends on organization - Commercial Business or Government
Commercial Business
Public: No impact on company if released. Often published in open-source environment
Sensitive: Has minimal impact if released (Financial Information)
Private: Data that should be used only inside organization (Personal Records, Salary)
Confidential: Data that effects business if disclosed (Trade Secrets, IP data, Source Code)
Critical: Contains valuable data. Access restricted to few individuals (Credit Card, SSN, etc.)
Government
Unclassified: Data that can be released to the public
Sensitive but Unclassified: Data that won’t affect national security (Medical records, Personal Files, etc.)
Confidential: Data that could seriously affect the government (Trade Secrets)
Secret: Data that could damage national security (Deployment Plan)
Top Secret: Data that would damage national security (Blueprints of weapons)