In a world where information has become a currency and data breaches cost companies millions of dollars, proper classification of valuable data is not just a recommendation, but a necessity.
The Data Centric Security model suggests stopping protecting the "perimeter" and starting protecting the data itself, making its classification a cornerstone of security.
Data is classified according to the level of its "value", regardless of the business process in which it circulates. This classification will allow you to manage the attributes of data access control for both users and applications (processes), devices, etc. that implement the corresponding business process.
Why is data classification the first step towards adequate data protection?
Data Centric Security is based on a simple principle: you cannot protect something that is not defined. Without a clear classification of limited-use data (know-how, financial statements, personal customer data, strategic plans), companies are at risk:
- Lose control over where data is stored and who has access to it.
- Violate regulatory requirements (GDPR, CCPA, FZ-152), which leads to fines and reputational losses.
- Waste resources by applying the same protection to all information, including insignificant information.
How to implement data classification?
Create a data value matrix together with the "data owners", lawyers, IT and business units.
Train employees: 90% of leaks are due to the human factor (Verizon DBIR 2023).
Integrate automatic tagging tools.
Conduct audits and update the classification when business processes change.
Bruce Schneier, Information security and cryptography expert