Sensitive Data
The main categories of sensitive and personal data that should be protected include:
1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII): This includes any information that can be used to identify an individual, such as their name, address, social security number, date of birth, phone number, email address, and government-issued identification numbers.
2. Financial Information: This refers to sensitive data related to an individual's financial accounts and transactions, such as credit card numbers, bank account details, payment card information, and financial transaction records.
3. Health Information: This includes any data related to an individual's health, medical conditions, treatments, or health insurance information. Examples include medical records, diagnoses, prescriptions, and health insurance policy details.
4. Confidential Corporate Information: This category encompasses sensitive data that belongs to an organization, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, financial records, strategic plans, customer lists, and proprietary information. Safeguarding this information is crucial for maintaining the competitiveness and reputation of the organization.
5. Biometric Data: Biometric data refers to unique physical or behavioral characteristics of an individual, such as fingerprints, facial recognition data, voiceprints, and retina scans. This data is highly personal and sensitive, requiring robust protection to prevent unauthorized access or misuse.
6. Geolocation Data: Geolocation data includes information that pinpoints an individual's physical location, such as GPS coordinates, IP addresses, and Wi-Fi network information. Protecting this data is essential to maintain privacy and prevent location tracking without consent.
7. Online Account Credentials: This includes usernames, passwords, security questions, and other authentication details associated with online accounts. Protecting these credentials is crucial to prevent unauthorized access to personal or sensitive information.
It is important to note that the specific categories of sensitive and personal data may vary depending on the applicable regulations and industry requirements. Organizations should conduct a thorough assessment of the data they handle to identify all sensitive categories and implement appropriate measures to protect them.