Explain the information classifications: Public, Confidential, and Restricted, with examples.

• A. All information is equally shareable; examples: policy summary.
• B. Public is shareable with the public; Confidential is limited to authorized personnel (e.g., internal memos); Restricted is highly sensitive (e.g., personnel files); examples: policy summary, internal memos, HR records.
• C. Public cannot be shared; Confidential is public; Restricted is internal only; examples: external memo.
• D. Public is secret; Confidential is common knowledge; Restricted is none; examples: marketing flyer.

Answer: (B)

Information classifications distinguish how widely something can be shared and how sensitive it is. Public data is meant to be accessible by anyone, so you can share it with the general audience; an example is a policy summary posted for the public. Confidential data isn’t for everyone; it should only be accessible to people who have a legitimate need to know, such as internal memos or non-public policy details. Restricted data is the most sensitive and access is tightly controlled to a very small group, like personnel files or HR records that require special authorization.

This aligns with the correct answer: Public is shareable with the public, Confidential is limited to authorized personnel, and Restricted is highly sensitive. It’s also consistent with the examples: policy summaries can be public, internal memos are confidential, and HR records are restricted. Other options misstate how sharing and sensitivity work—for example, suggesting everything is shareable, or reversing which level is public or secret, which doesn’t fit how information classifications are typically handled.