Data security architecture
Overall design of controls that protect information assets across their lifecycle including classification encryption access control and monitoring
Information lifecycle
Stages through which data passes such as creation storage use sharing archival and destruction each with distinct security needs
Data at rest
Data stored on persistent media such as disks backups or archives which must be protected with access controls and often encryption
Data in transit
Data moving over networks between systems or locations which must be protected with secure protocols integrity checks and endpoint authentication
Data in use
Data actively processed in memory or by applications which may require controls such as secure coding memory protection and confidential computing
Structured vs unstructured data
Structured data resides in defined formats like relational tables while unstructured data includes documents email media and other free form content
Data classification scheme
Defined set of labels and criteria such as public internal confidential that drives required safeguards and handling rules
Data owner responsibilities
Define classification retention and protection needs for data approve access requests and ensure controls align with business and regulatory requirements
Data custodian responsibilities
Implement and operate technical and physical safeguards for data such as backup access control and storage protection according to owner requirements
Data inventory and catalog
Comprehensive record of data assets locations owners classifications and interfaces used to support governance risk assessment and discovery
Data discovery
Process of locating and identifying sensitive information across systems and repositories often using automated scanning for patterns or tags
Data minimization
Principle of collecting and retaining only the minimum amount of data needed for defined purposes to reduce risk and compliance burden
Data retention policy
Rules specifying how long different types of data must be kept and in what form based on legal business and operational requirements
Legal hold and retention override
Temporary suspension of normal disposition for specific data due to litigation or investigation which must be supported by storage and backup design
Data destruction and sanitization
Methods to ensure data is irrecoverable when no longer needed such as overwrite degauss crypto erase or physical destruction
Crypto shredding
Technique where destroying encryption keys renders encrypted data permanently unreadable without deleting all stored copies
Encryption at rest
Use of cryptography to protect stored data on disks or in databases so that compromise of media does not expose plaintext information
Encryption in transit
Use of cryptographic protocols to protect data flow between endpoints against eavesdropping and tampering such as TLS based connections
Field level encryption
Encryption applied selectively to specific fields or columns within a dataset to protect highly sensitive elements while leaving other data in clear
Tokenization
Replacement of sensitive data values with non sensitive tokens where the mapping is stored in a secured token vault
Format preserving encryption
Encryption method that maintains the format of the original data such as length and character set to ease integration with legacy systems
Pseudonymization
Processing that replaces direct identifiers with pseudonyms while keeping a mapping so data can still be linked under controlled conditions
Anonymization
Processing that irreversibly removes or modifies identifiers and linkages so individuals cannot reasonably be re identified from the data set
Differential privacy
Mathematical approach that adds carefully calibrated noise to query results so that outputs do not reveal whether any individual record is present