Classification of assets is an essential step towards securing information and general risk management. It points out what assets are owned by an organization, those that are shared between departments and also users and stakeholders of the respective assets. Identifying and classifying assets also aids in establishing vulnerabilities within them which may be a risk factor. It is also important to classify assets in order to enable proper manageability by authorized individuals. Apart from securing information, it also helps in accountability since the allocation of resources is done in a scheduled or coordinated method.
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Breaking down assets into manageable constructs also helps in identifying key risk areas that may be a vulnerability to the entire system. Despite an organization working in departments, there also needs to be an additional method of classifying structures within the organization. Assets classification identifies key structures that support business, identifies the threats facing the structures and vulnerabilities it brings and lastly measures the impact on the business in case these vulnerabilities are exploited.
The first step in classifying assets is to determine what are the core business operations of an organization. This involves what the daily activities conducted in an organization are. Most organizations have their core operations revolving around information. Despite the field of business, whether finance or health, information is a priceless asset to an organization. Information may be structural, relational or human. Structural information includes sensitive information about services and processes, system configurations or even management processes. On the other hand, relational information includes information that helps the organization perform their duties. These include information about customers, suppliers or even distribution channels.
This class of assets can be considered as sensitive due to their nature. In case of a security breach, the impact of an organization can be quite severe due to the implications it may accompany. Financial and legislative implications may not be the only impact, but the brand can be permanently dented which is quite irreversible. Further classifying information assets into the frequency of access, the type of information accessible, nature of information and the type of people that access it will help to identify the vulnerable areas that may require attention. Information that is freely available to customers and the general public needs to be filtered to ensure there is no unintentional disclosure.
Property assets is another classification of assets. Property assets can be classified as tangible or intangible assets. Examples of tangible assets are physical items such as vehicles, offices, fittings, and utilities. On the other hand, intangible assets include cash, debtors, creditors, bonds, softwares, websites, and applications. Vandalism of property is a significant concern in information security. This is because physical security is considered as the first line of defense for information. Classifying property assets is a step to determine risk analysis and also helps in accountability. Auditing is mainly possible if there is a proper classification of assets. Property assets will show the threats that face the organization in terms of the property they own and the steps they may take to ensure risk is minimized.
Lastly, classifying assets in terms of people is necessary to determine who is responsible for what resource in an organization it ensures accountability and responsible use of resources. People assets can be classified as tangible and intangible. Tangible assets can be considered high risk since they have direct access to other assets of an organization. They include employees, owners, and shareholders. Intangible people assets have an indirect risk connection. They include customers and financiers.
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