Glossary

Data Classification

What is Data Classification?

Data classification is a process for organizing data, into various categories based on their level of importance or confidentiality. Use of this process can reduce the costs associated with data protection, long-term retention, and regulatory compliance.

What are the Types of Data Classification?

It’s up to organizations to decide what levels of data classification works best with their data, but a common approach is to classify data with one of the following types:

Public: Data that can be shared openly, such as marketing information, website content, or publicly available reports.

Internal: Data that is meant for internal use only, but considered low risk if it was leaked, such as company policies or project documentation.

Confidential: Data that is sensitive and requires access controls, such as client information or intellectual property.

Highly confidential or Restricted: Data that requires the highest level of security, such as financial records or personal information.

What are the Benefits of Data Classification?

Data classification provides numerous benefits, both for security and business purposes. Firstly, data classification improves your organization’s cyber resilience. Data classification enables the application of risk mitigation by limiting access (principle of least privilege) and prioritizing data protection methods for the most critical data to the business Additionally, classifying data helps organizations store their information efficiently. Critical data gets prioritized and made readably available in a secure, hot storage tier, while less critical data can be stored in a cooler, more cost-effective tier.

Wasabi and Data Classification

We recognize that every piece of data has the potential to reshape your business. That’s why with Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, all data is treated equally and made readily accessible no matter how you classify it—hot, cool or cold. Built for extreme data durability, integrity and security, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage supports configurable immutability to protect against accidental deletions or ransomware attacks.