Classification of Data in Cybersecurity

What is Data?

Data is the raw/discrete information like numbers, binary data, metadata, etc. Different types of data use classified ascending to their type, sensitivity and it's value. Following are the various types of classification of data.

Classification of Data

Classification of Data

1. Based on sensitivity levels

(a) High-sensitive data

This includes data that is highly sensitive or important and its leak would have a catastrophic result. For eg, Financial records, intellectual property, and authentication data. This data need to be encrypted while saving on servers and only some administrators should be given permission to access it.

(b) Medium-sensitive data

This includes data that is moderately sensitive and its leak would not have an extreme or catastrophic result. For eg, email and documents have no confidential data. This data can be encrypted with passwords but generally, it is not necessary and only those documents which contain some sensitive information need to be encrypted.

(c) Low-sensitive data

This includes data that is openly available in the public domain and does not contain any confidential information. For eg, Articles, photos, and videos on a public website.

2. Based on content, context, and user solution

(a) Content-based classification

This type of data contains only content like files, documents, articles, etc. This data is classified based on the nature of the content.

(b) Context-based classification

This type of data includes files based on metadata like the application that created the file, the person who created the document, and the location in which files were authored or modified.

(c) User-based classification

This type of data is classified by the user itself or any other knowledgeable person.

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