2.2

• Sensitive Information


  Information that should be protected from being publicly released as it could harm the safety or privacy of an organisation or an individual
• Examples of Sensitive Information

  • Medical data that could be embarrassing to an individual if released
  • Financial data that will negatively impact the company if made public to competitors
• Non-Sensitive Information


  Information that can be released publicly with no fear of negative consequence
• Examples of Non-Sensitive Information

  • Store information including shop addresses, opening hours and the names of senior managers
  • Product information including prices, online reviews and general availability
• Private Information


  Private information relates to an individual and it should not be shared with anyone else without the data subject's permission
• Examples of Private Information

  • Home addresses, contact information, birth dates and banking details
  • Employee data such as linked bank accounts and addresses
• Public Information


  Released to the public and can therefore be seen by anyone. Public information is non-sensitive
• Examples of Public Information

  • Social media usernames, posts and shared images
  • Public business information including addresses, promotional material and opening times
  • A government report like the national census every ten years
• Personal Information


  Identifiable data about a specific individual
• Examples of Personal Information

  • Full name, date of birth, gender, marital status, medical history, sexual orientation and voting history
• Business Information


  Any kind of data about a specific business. This information could be public or private
• Examples of Business Information

  • Address of its headquarters
  • Financial data or employee details
  • Annual sales figures
• Confidential Information


  Private data that is more restricted than sensitive information, with access limited to only those who need to know
• Examples of Confidential Information

  • Doctor / therapist notes
  • Business Profits and losses
  • Trade secrets
• Classified Information

  Highly sensitive information stored by a government institution, requiring the highest levels of restricted access. Access is usually restricted by law and only viewable by authorised individuals or groups
• Examples of Classified Information

  • Military data
  • Terrorism precautions
  • Crime scene reports
• Anonymised Information


  Anonymisation removes personally identifiable data from information so that an individual cannot be identified. This allows the information to be used in much wider context without running the risk of legal action
• Anonymised Information

  • Partially anonymised information - where some of the personal information has been removed and replaced by a symbol
  • Completely anonymised information - where all identifiable data has been removed