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Confidential

Sensitive but unclassified
Low Unclassified

Figure 3. Levels of government/ military classification

1. Top Secret
The unauthorized disclosure of top-secret data will have drastic effects and
cause grave damage to national security. Top-secret data is
compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis such that a user could have top-
secret clearance and have access to no data until the user has a need to know.
2. Secret
The unauthorized disclosure of data classified as secret will have significant
effects and cause critical damage to national security.
3. Confidential
The unauthorized disclosure of data classified as confidential will have
noticeable
effects and cause serious damage to national security. This classification is
used for all data between secret and sensitive but unclassified classifications.
4. Sensitive but unclassified
Sensitive but unclassified (SBU) is used for data that is for internal use or for
office use only (FOUO). Often SBU is used to protect information that could
violate the privacy rights of individuals. This is not technically a classification
label; instead, it is a marking or label used to indicate use or management.
5. Unclassified
The disclosure of unclassified data does not compromise confidentiality or
cause any noticeable damage. This is not technically a classification label;
instead, it is a marking or label used to indicate use or management.

Items labeled as confidential, secret, and top secret are collectively known as
classified. Often, revealing the actual classification of data to unauthorized individuals
is a violation of that data. Thus, the term classified is generally used to refer to any
data that is ranked above the unclassified level.

Commercial business/private sector classification systems can vary widely
because they typically do not have to adhere to a standard or regulation.

High Confidential

Private

Sensitive
Low Public
Figure 4. Commercial business/ private sector classification levels

1. Confidential
This is used for data that is extremely sensitive and for internal use only. A
significant negative impact could occur for a company if confidential data is
disclosed. Sometimes the label proprietary is substituted for confidential.

ITEC106 – Systems Security Mr. John Mark L. Dula