What is a data asset?
Definition
A data asset is any entity made up of data, such as a database, a document, an output file or a web page. NIST's glossary also counts a service that returns data from an application.
- Category
- Data
- Also called
- data assets, information asset
- Last updated
NIST's glossary, citing CNSSI 4009-2022, defines a data asset as an information-based resource, or any entity that is made up of data. Its examples: a database made of data records, a system or application output file, a document or a web page. A service that gives access to data from an application counts too, such as one that returns individual records from a database.
In plain terms, if it holds data and someone would care if it were lost, leaked or changed, it's a data asset.
An example
A clinic keeps patient records in a database. The database is a data asset. So is the weekly report exported from it, and so is the web page where patients look up their appointments. Each one needs its own protection, because each can leak on its own.
Why it matters to you
Security teams list their data assets first, because you can't protect what you haven't counted. For you, the same idea applies at home: your email account, cloud photo storage, tax documents and password manager are your data assets. A company that holds data about you has made it one of its assets too, and a breach of that company becomes a leak of yours.
Data asset vs. related terms
- Personal data is information about a specific person. A data asset is the container or resource that holds data, and may or may not include personal data.
- Data owner is the person or team responsible for a data asset. See the data owner entry.
How to protect yourself
- 1
List what you keep
Write down the accounts and storage that hold your important data: email, cloud drives, backups, phone. Close the ones you no longer use.
- 2
Lock the valuable ones first
Use a unique password and two-step verification on your email and cloud storage, since they can reset almost everything else.
- 3
Delete what you don't need
Old documents and unused accounts are data assets that can still leak. Remove them.
- 4
Look at what others hold about you
Data brokers hold records about you as assets of their own. Serus finds where your address and phone number are listed and removes them.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
Is a database a data asset?
Yes. NIST gives a database made of data records as its main example.
Is a web page a data asset?
It can be. NIST's definition names a web page, and a website that returns data in response to queries.
What is the difference between a data asset and personal data?
Personal data is information about a person. A data asset is any resource made of data, and it only holds personal data if the data is about someone.
Sources
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