An asset management program is a process for documenting and maintaining an inventory of hardware, software and information assets. It includes which of the following processes?

• A. Data classification process
• B. Change management
• C. Incident response
• D. Disaster recovery

Answer: (A)

Asset management centers on keeping an up-to-date record of hardware, software, and information assets along with key attributes like ownership, location, version, and lifecycle. A vital attribute to capture is how data is classified—labels that indicate sensitivity and required protection. Classifying data guides how each asset is handled, who can access it, how it’s stored or encrypted, and how long it’s retained, which ties directly into how you protect and manage the asset throughout its life cycle. Including a data classification process in an asset management program ensures you know both what you have and how it should be safeguarded based on its importance and risk profile. Change management, incident response, and disaster recovery are important processes, but they address different objectives—how changes are made, how security events are handled, and how to recover from outages—rather than the inventory and protection controls that asset management focuses on.