Data Classification – The Importance Of Classifying Data

Data classification is an essential step in building a secure organisation. While tasks like identity access management might spring to mind as more vital in securing data, classification dramatically improves the safety of your most important data. If you are new to exploring business solutions and business security, the concept of data protection through data classification might be unfamiliar territory. You might not necessarily realise the important of classifying data in the first place. With this in mind, here is a brief explanation of the process and an exploration of the best reasons to classify your data with a business solutions company.

Data Protection In A Classifying Structure

When you hire data classification experts, you are essentially trusting them with improving data protection by sorting your sensitive information. But what criteria do these companies use and to what ends? Information and data is classified according to the risk of unauthorised exposure. This helps you to protect your most important data by securing it independently of the less essential information. But surely you want all of your information to be secure? The reality is that you don’t want your most valuable information assets to be kept alongside data which you consider almost public. To use an analogy, you wouldn’t want anything stolen from your hotel room, but you don’t necessarily keep your clothes with your passport and valuables in the hotel safe. Data classification is necessary for the security of high risk assets. The lowest level of security used by data classification tools is accorded to that which is comfortably held in the public domain. This includes information which either may or must be open to the general public, with no legal restrictions on its use and to which all employees are given open access. Press releases, job openings or marketing materials might be included in this category. Next, there are internal materials, which due to privacy considerations must be restricted to personnel who have reason to access the data. Data classification software then treats information above this grade as confidential. This highly sensitive data is only disclosed to a specific group of individuals. Finally, regulatory data classification is of data distributed on a need-to-know basis and which is subject to regulations.

The Necessity Of A Data Classification Program

So, under the aegis of a data classification program, data is classified according to sensitivity and the potential risk if it were to be made completely public. A key factor is the level of harm it could do to your business. A company should work with their business solutions company to clearly define and communicate certain classification types. This is really the first step in any protection program, and from this basis you can begin to work out access, and to determine the appropriate response to various breaches. Without first classifying your data, it is hard to even decide upon the preventative measures to put in place to begin with. Some companies choose to lump all of their data together, technically according it all ‘classified’ status. In reality, this grouping will be far from secure, and will not meet the security standards required for truly classified material. When it comes to data protection, a data classification solution is needed in order to know how to treat data and protect it properly. By according appropriate handling procedures to different information, companies dramatically reduce data leaks and are able to more easily secure sensitive information. Data classification also empowers users to realise the value of the data they are dealing with. Classifying data often has the appropriate effect purely through psychological impact alone. Finally, data classification has the added benefit of sorting data to make data retrieval easier for those who have a right to do so. But it is a tricky business and you need the right solutions company for the job. HANDD Business Solutions is here to help.

Secure And Expert Data Classification From HANDD Business Solutions

At HANDD Business Solutions, we consistently offer the most secure and efficient data protection services. If you are looking for data classification services, we can promise a skilled and experienced assessment of your situation. We seek to understand your environment, and to work with you to classify, then secure, all of your data and information assets, from the public through to the highly confidential. If you want to learn more about the data classification solutions we offer, you can visit our website at https://www.handd.co.uk/. Speak to us directly on +44 (0)845 643 4063, or simply email info@handd.co.uk for more information about our services.