In regards to information classification what is the main responsibility of information (data) owner?

Question

Options

• Adetermining the data sensitivity or classification level
• Brunning regular data backups
• Caudit the data users
• Dperiodically check the validity and accuracy of the data

• A
  88% (14)
• B
  6% (1)
• D
  6% (1)

Explanation

The data (information) owner is typically a senior business executive or manager who holds ultimate accountability for a data asset, and their primary responsibility is to determine how sensitive or critical that data is - i.e., assigning its classification level (e.g., public, confidential, secret). This classification decision drives all downstream security controls and handling procedures.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (running backups): Backups are an operational task belonging to the data custodian (usually IT/system administrators), not the owner.
• C (auditing data users): Auditing is a function of security auditors or administrators, though the owner may define who has access.
• D (checking validity/accuracy): Periodic data quality checks are a data steward responsibility; the owner sets policy but doesn't routinely validate records.

Memory tip: Think of the data owner like a property owner - they decide what kind of building goes there (classification), but they hire contractors (custodians) to maintain it and inspectors (auditors) to check it. The owner makes the classification decision; everyone else executes it.

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