Risk Classifications
Stanford is committed to protecting the privacy of its students, alumni, faculty and staff, as well as protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information important to the University's mission.
Stanford has classified its information assets into risk-based categories for the purpose of determining who is allowed to access the information and what security precautions must be taken to protect it against unauthorized access.
As of May 2015, a new set of classifications has been established and is now in effect for Stanford data and systems: Low Risk, Moderate Risk, and High Risk. The former framework — Prohibited, Restricted, Confidential, and Unrestricted — was phased out in January 2016.
Special note to Stanford researchers: Except for regulated data such as Protected Health Information (PHI), Social Security Numbers (SSNs), and financial account numbers, research data and systems predominately fall into the Low Risk classification. Review the classification definitions and examples below to determine the appropriate risk level to apply. See Research Policy Handbook Section 1.10 for information security practices and guidelines specific to research computing systems.
In addition to understanding risk classifications, for Moderate and High Risk Data, be sure to take all necessary steps to protect sensitive data at Stanford.
Low Risk
Data and systems are classified as Low Risk if they are not considered to be Moderate or High Risk, and:
- The data is intended for public disclosure, or
- The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system would have no adverse impact on our mission, safety, finances, or reputation.
Moderate Risk
Data and systems are classified as Moderate Risk if they are not considered to be High Risk, and:
- The data is not generally available to the public, or
- The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system could have a mildly adverse impact on our mission, safety, finances, or reputation.
High Risk
Data and systems are classified as High Risk if:
- Protection of the data is required by law/regulation,
- Stanford is required to self-report to the government and/or provide notice to the individual if the data is inappropriately accessed, or
- The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system could have a significant adverse impact on our mission, safety, finances, or reputation.
Data Risk Classification Examples
Use the examples below to determine which risk classification is appropriate for a particular type of data. When mixed data falls into multiple risk categories, use the highest risk classification across all.
View Minimum Security Standards: Endpoints
Low Risk
- Research data (at data owner's discretion)
- SUNet IDs
- Information authorized to be available on or through Stanford's website without SUNet ID authentication
- Policy and procedure manuals designated by the owner as public
- Job postings
- University contact information not designated by the individual as "private" in StanfordYou
- Information in the public domain
- Publicly available campus maps
Moderate Risk
- Unpublished research data (at data owner's discretion)
- Student records and admission applications
- Faculty/staff employment applications, personnel files, benefits, salary, birth date, personal contact information
- Non-public Stanford policies and policy manuals
- Non-public contracts
- Stanford internal memos and email, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial info
- University and employee ID numbers
- Project/Task/Award (PTA) numbers
- Engineering, design, and operational information regarding Stanford infrastructure
High Risk
- Health Information, including Protected Health Information (PHI)
- Health Insurance policy ID numbers
- Social Security Numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Financial account numbers
- Export controlled information
- Driver's license numbers
- Passport and visa numbers
- Donor contact information and non-public gift information
Server Risk Classification Examples
A server is defined as a host that provides a network accessible service.
View Minimum Security Standards: Servers
Low Risk
- Servers used for research computing purposes without involving Moderate or High Risk Data
- File server used to store published public data
- Database server containing SUNet IDs only
Moderate Risk
- Servers handling Moderate Risk Data
- Database of non-public University contracts
- File server containing non-public procedures/documentation
- Server storing student records
High Risk
- Servers handling High Risk Data
- Servers managing access to High Risk systems
- University IT and departmental email systems
- Core campus infrastructure
Application Risk Classification Examples
An application is defined as software running on a server that is network accessible.
View Minimum Security Standards: Applications
Low Risk
- Applications handling Low Risk Data
- Online maps
- University online catalog displaying academic course descriptions
- Bus schedules
Moderate Risk
- Applications handling Moderate Risk Data
- Human Resources application that stores salary information
- Directory containing phone numbers, email addresses, and titles
- University application that distributes information in the event of a campus emergency
- Online application for student admissions
High Risk
- Applications handling High Risk Data
- Human Resources application that stores employee SSNs
- Application that stores campus network node information
- Application collecting personal information of donor, alumnus, or other individual
- Application that processes credit card payments
Approved Services
This table indicates which classifications of data are allowed on a selection of commonly used Stanford University IT services.
- High Risk Non-PHI Data
- Payment Card Industry (PCI) data has special regulatory requirements that preclude using the services below. Contact the PCI team for assistance with handling this type of data.
- High Risk PHI Data
- Protected Health Information (PHI) data has special regulatory requirements that govern using the services below. Contact the DRA team for assistance handling this type of data.
| Stanford Service | Low Risk | Moderate Risk | High Risk: Non‑PHI | High Risk: PHI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio and Video Conferencing: Zoom and WebEx, Microsoft Teams IMPORTANT: Teams is only approved for PHI data with Cardinal Key. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Backups: Backup and Recovery Service for Servers (BaRS) | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Backups: CrashPlanPROe | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Calendar: Office 365 | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Cardinal Fax | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Cardinal Print | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Cloud Infrastructure: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform IMPORTANT: Only approved for High-Risk & PHI data with the provision set up by UIT, and configured and managed by a Stanford professional services team. (e.g. Stanford Research Computing or TCG) Only HIPAA-approved services allowed for PHI-containing cloud accounts. See GCP and AWS. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Content Management: Stanford Domains | Approved for low risk data | Not approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Content Management: Drupal (Stanford Sites), WordPress | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Content Management: OpenText | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Not approved for high risk data |
| Database Hosting: MySQL | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Document Management: Office 365 OneDrive, SharePoint IMPORTANT: Only approved for PHI data with Cardinal Key. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Document Management: Medicine Box | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Document Management: Google Drive (including Shared Drives, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms) IMPORTANT: Only approved for PHI data with Cardinal Key with Google Drive. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Document Management: Google G Suite: All others (Photos, Jamboard, Sites, etc...) | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Electronic Data Capture (EDC): REDCap, Forte, REDCap Cloud Note: Compliant with Title 21 CFR Part 11. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Electronic Signature: AdobeSign IMPORTANT: Only approved for PHI data with the system configuration set up by UIT. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Electronic Signature: DocuSign | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Email: Google Mail, Office365 (with “Secure:” in subject line) | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Email: Google Mail, Office365 (without “Secure:” in subject line) | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Email: Other Departmental Systems | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Encryption: MDM Compliant Device, Stanford Device Registration Compliant Device | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Encryption: VLRE Compliant Device | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| File Storage: AFS, CIFS, NFS | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| File Storage: Secure AFS, Secure File Storage, Wasabi Cloud Storage | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| File Transfer: Globus | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Cardinal Voice Softphone | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Slack Messaging: Public Channels | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Slack Messaging: Direct Messages and invite-only channels | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Issue Tracking: JIRA | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Network Access Control: SUNAC | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Research Computing Clusters: Sherlock and SCG | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Research Computing Clusters: Nero and Carina IMPORTANT: A DRA review is required to introduce new research datasets. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Research Computing Storage: Oak | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Research Dataset Collaboration: Redivis IMPORTANT: A DRA review is required to introduce new research datasets. |
Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| ServiceNow | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Shared Computing: FarmShare | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for high risk data | Not approved for high risk data |
| Smartsheet: Collaboration and Project Management | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Stanford Profiles: CAP | Approved for low risk data | Not approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Survey Tool: Qualtrics - University, SoM, and GSB instances | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Survey Tool: Qualtrics - All other instances | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Voice Messaging | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| VPN | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Approved for PHI data |
| Web Programming: CGI | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Not approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
| Wiki: Confluence | Approved for low risk data | Approved for moderate risk data | Approved for general high risk data | Not approved for PHI data |
