Which term describes the senior executive role primarily responsible for maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an information asset?

• A. Data Owner
• B. Data Steward
• C. Data Ownership
• D. Privacy Officer

Answer: (A)

The main concept is accountability for an information asset. The person who owns the data is the senior role responsible for protecting its confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This data owner sets the protective requirements, approves access, and ensures controls align with business risk and policy, making sure the asset is properly classified and safeguarded. The data steward tends to focus on data quality and governance details under the owner’s policy, not ultimate accountability for CIA. A privacy officer concentrates on privacy laws and data subject rights, not the overall protection of the asset’s security properties. Data ownership, as a concept, describes who holds responsibility rather than a specific role, so it’s not the best fit for a senior executive tasked with maintaining CIA for the asset.