What term means the process of downgrading of a classified piece of data or information to the unclassified level?

What term means the process of downgrading of a classified piece of data or information to the unclassified level?

• A. Declassification
• B. Data Tag
• C. Data format
• D. Deidentification

Answer: (A)

Downgrading a classified piece of data to unclassified is called declassification. In security contexts, information starts at protected levels such as Top Secret, Secret, or Confidential. Declassification is the formal process of lowering or removing that protection so the material can be released publicly or to a wider audience after it’s reviewed and deemed no longer sensitive. The other terms don’t fit this concept: data tag is just labeling data with metadata, data format refers to how data is encoded or structured, and deidentification involves removing personal identifiers to protect privacy rather than changing the classification status.

Downgrading a classified piece of data to unclassified is called declassification. In security contexts, information starts at protected levels such as Top Secret, Secret, or Confidential. Declassification is the formal process of lowering or removing that protection so the material can be released publicly or to a wider audience after it’s reviewed and deemed no longer sensitive. The other terms don’t fit this concept: data tag is just labeling data with metadata, data format refers to how data is encoded or structured, and deidentification involves removing personal identifiers to protect privacy rather than changing the classification status.