Data Types and Classification
Data Types
- Regulated: Data governed by laws, government regulations, or third-party mandates (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
- Trade Secrets: Proprietary business information that provides a competitive advantage and is protected from disclosure.
- Intellectual Property: Creations of the mind, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
- Legal: Data related to legal matters, including contracts, legal proceedings, and regulatory compliance documents.
- Financial: Data pertaining to financial transactions, accounting, and monetary assets.
- Human vs. Non-Human vs. Hybrid Readable: Refers to data formats readable by humans (e.g., text), non-human formats (e.g., machine-readable code), or a combination of both.
Data Classifications
- Sensitive: Data that must be protected from unauthorized access to safeguard the privacy or security of individuals or organizations.
- Confidential: Data that requires limited access and is only available to authorized individuals or systems.
- Public: Data that can be freely shared and accessed by anyone without restrictions.
- Restricted: Data that is subject to strict access controls due to its sensitivity, requiring special authorization for access.
- Private: Personal data belonging to individuals or entities that is not meant for public disclosure.
- Critical: Data that is essential for the continued operation of an organization and must always be available (e.g., operational data).
- Proprietary: Data owned by an organization that is protected and not shared with external entities without permission.
- PII - Personally Identifiable Information: Data that can be used to identify an individual (e.g., name, Social Security number, address).
- PHI - Protected Health Information: Health-related data that is protected under regulations like HIPAA and must be kept private and secure.