What is information classification in information security?

Information Classification is the procedure of classifying data into relevant categories. For instance, inside a company, the financial documents should not be diverse with public relation department documents. Instead, they must be kept in independent folders, and limited to the responsible individuals who are named to and entrusted with access. In this method, the stored data will be safe, and it will be simpler to be found when required.

Information Security Classification needed that information first be recognized. An initiative is needed to actively discover data that is created, stored and managed by multiple business groups within the organization. By finding information, it is basically rediscovering the business. It can take a moment to review how data is empowering it or possibly operating ineffectively.

It is representing and using security information classification optimizes risk and resources, securing data both effectively and efficiently. By categorising data as per its sensitivity and levels of business impact, it is informing the risk and information security practice of the priority with which information should be protected and therefore the organization’s information security budgets must be spent.

It can be accurately classifying information that is governed by laws and regulations enables an organization to define its dissemination on a need-to-know basis. This minimizes the risk of theft or loss, which helps prevent or minimize monitory penalties related to non-compliance.

It can categorize the information on the basis of the purpose for which the information is used. Broadly, it can categories the information are as follows −

• Strategic Information − Strategic information is the information required for high range and strategic decisions. Strategic information is needed for planning and policy creation of the business. Strategic information contains information concerned with new technologies, market availability, raw-material values, new product developments, manpower planning and competitors, etc.

• Tactical Information − Tactical information is required to take medium range decisions and generally the time period it covers is around one year. Tactical information contains sales analyses and prediction, financial projections, production resource requirements and the annual financial statements. Generally, the data for this type of data is generally depends on current events and transactions. This needed immediate generation and clarification of data. Tactical decisions needed information from multiple sources, both inside and outside, before making decisions.

• Operational Information − Operational information is needed for routine services of a business organization. This information implement to very short-term period, which can vary from an hour to a few days. It contains information about current stocks-in-hand, outstanding purchase orders, stock reorder level, and customers outstanding orders etc.