Assets (Information Security)

An organization's assets (patrimony, property or possessions) are everything that is of value to it or, in other words, everything that makes the organization more valuable or everything that would diminish the organization's value or efficiency in case of loss.

In the context of personal data protection, personal data and all necessary resources to process them correctly are considered as assets:
• material possessions housing the data (buildings, machines, IT supplies, etc.);
• the software necessary for the data processing (applications and programmes, operating systems, etc.);
• the information used in the data processing operations, which can be stored in various forms: in the database, on a paper carrier, etc.;
• infrastructure (the basic services necessary for the organization to achieve its objective; electrical energy, lighting, communication, transport, lifts, etc.);
• staff (the organization's employees, temporary staff, etc.);
• intangibles (reputation, brand image, ethical values, etc.);
• the financial resources necessary for the organization to function properly.