What are assets?
In cyber security and compliance, an asset refers to anything of value that a business needs to protect from security threats, whether digital or physical, and forms a key part of most compliance standards, such as Cyber Essentials, SOC 2, and ISO 27001.
Common types of assets include:
Data – Customer information, financial records, employee details, intellectual property, and confidential business data.
Hardware – Servers, computers, mobile devices, network equipment, and storage devices.
Software & Applications – Operating systems, cloud services, databases, and business applications.
People – Employees, contractors, and third-party vendors who interact with sensitive systems or data.
As mentioned, many compliance standards require businesses to implement and maintain an asset register to track critical assets. This process helps organisations implement appropriate security controls to reduce any risk associated with an asset.
Common types of assets include:
Data – Customer information, financial records, employee details, intellectual property, and confidential business data.
Hardware – Servers, computers, mobile devices, network equipment, and storage devices.
Software & Applications – Operating systems, cloud services, databases, and business applications.
People – Employees, contractors, and third-party vendors who interact with sensitive systems or data.
As mentioned, many compliance standards require businesses to implement and maintain an asset register to track critical assets. This process helps organisations implement appropriate security controls to reduce any risk associated with an asset.
Updated on: 19/02/2025
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