Body
Purpose
The Data Protection Pattern defines the approved reference architecture for protecting University data throughout its lifecycle.
This pattern describes how data protection services, recovery services, encryption services, retention capabilities, monitoring services, identity services, and workload architectures fit together to support protection of University information assets.
The pattern provides a common architecture supporting data confidentiality, integrity, recoverability, lifecycle management, and accountability across University-managed technology environments.
Applicable standards, workload classifications, data classifications, legal obligations, regulatory obligations, contractual obligations, and business requirements determine the controls implemented within this architecture.
Use Cases
This pattern applies when:
- Hosting applications
- Hosting databases
- Hosting storage services
- Hosting data products
- Hosting platform services
- Implementing data protection capabilities
- Protecting backup and replicated data
- Protecting information exchanged through integrations
- Supporting data lifecycle management
- Supporting recovery and restoration architectures
This pattern does not define:
- Encryption requirements
- Access-control requirements
- Retention requirements
- Disposition requirements
- Backup requirements
- Recovery requirements
- Classification requirements
- Monitoring requirements
- Regulatory requirements
Pattern Application
The Data Protection Pattern provides a common protection architecture for University-managed data.
Innovation Workloads
Innovation workloads implement data-protection architectures appropriate for experimentation, pilot initiatives, research, and evaluation activities.
Enterprise Workloads
Enterprise workloads implement the Data Protection Pattern using the standard enterprise protection architecture.
Regulated Workloads
Regulated workloads implement the Data Protection Pattern using additional protection capabilities, governance requirements, and obligation-specific extensions.
Design Principles
Data-Centric Protection
Protection capabilities follow information assets regardless of workload type, hosting architecture, platform service, storage technology, or integration model.
Protection by Architecture
Protection capabilities are incorporated into workload and platform architectures rather than introduced after deployment.
Lifecycle-Based Protection
Protection architectures support information throughout its creation, storage, movement, recovery, retention, and disposition lifecycle.
Recoverable Information
Protection architectures support restoration and continued availability of information assets following operational disruption or failure.
Composable Architecture
Data-protection capabilities are assembled from reusable architecture components supporting multiple hosting architectures and workload classifications.
Shared Protection Services
Data-protection capabilities may leverage approved enterprise services supporting multiple workloads and hosting environments.
Logical Architecture
Information Assets
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+-- Applications
+-- Databases
+-- Storage Services
+-- Data Products
+-- Platform Services
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v
Data Protection Architecture
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+-- Encryption Services
+-- Recovery Services
+-- Retention Services
+-- Monitoring Services
+-- Identity Services
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v
Protected Information Assets
Data Protection Architecture Components
Encryption Protection Component
Provides architecture supporting implementation of confidentiality capabilities through approved encryption and key-management services.
Recovery Protection Component
Provides architecture supporting restoration and recovery of protected information assets.
Retention Protection Component
Provides architecture supporting retention, lifecycle management, and information-governance capabilities.
Monitoring Protection Component
Provides visibility into data-protection architectures through integration with approved monitoring capabilities.
Data Recovery Component
Provides restoration architecture supporting recovery of information assets following disruption, deletion, corruption, or service failure.
Shared Protection Component
Provides reusable enterprise protection capabilities supporting multiple workloads and hosting environments.
Data Governance Component
Provides architecture supporting integration with governance, classification, inventory, ownership, and accountability capabilities.
Data Protection Domains
Data Creation
Data creation architectures establish protected information through approved applications, services, integrations, and business processes.
Data Storage
Data storage architectures provide persistent repositories supporting business, academic, research, analytical, and operational functions.
Data Movement
Data movement architectures support communication, integration, replication, synchronization, exchange, and information-sharing functions.
Data Recovery
Data recovery architectures support restoration of information assets following operational disruption or failure.
Data Retention
Data retention architectures support lifecycle-management and information-governance capabilities.
Data Disposition
Data disposition architectures support removal of information assets when lifecycle-management processes determine they are no longer required.
Data Protection Boundaries
Workload Data Boundary
The workload data boundary contains information assets directly supporting a workload.
Enterprise Data Boundary
The enterprise data boundary contains shared information services supporting multiple workloads.
Backup and Recovery Boundary
The backup and recovery boundary contains protected recovery copies and restoration services.
Retention Boundary
The retention boundary contains information assets and services supporting lifecycle-management functions.
External Data Boundary
The external data boundary contains information exchanges with systems outside University operational control.
Data Protection Integration
Identity Integration
The Data Protection Pattern integrates with the Identity Pattern to support protection of information through identity-aware services and access-management capabilities.
Network Integration
The Data Protection Pattern integrates with the Network Pattern to support protected movement of information between workloads, services, and platforms.
Monitoring Integration
The Data Protection Pattern integrates with the Monitoring Pattern to provide visibility into protection, recovery, governance, and lifecycle-management activities.
Resilience and Recovery Integration
The Data Protection Pattern integrates with the Contingency and Resiliency Pattern to support restoration and recovery of protected information assets.
Shared-Service Integration
The Data Protection Pattern integrates with approved enterprise shared services supporting protection, monitoring, governance, management, and recovery capabilities.
Landing Zone Integration
Landing Zones implement this pattern through approved data-protection architectures and reusable platform capabilities.
Operational Responsibilities
Enterprise Service Providers
Enterprise service providers own enterprise data-protection services, recovery services, retention services, and shared protection capabilities.
Platform Engineering
Platform Engineering owns reusable data-protection architecture components, onboarding automation, and Landing Zone data-protection integration.
Information Security
Information Security provides security requirements consumed by data-protection architectures and participates in reviews and investigations.
Data Owners
Data owners provide information regarding ownership, classification, lifecycle, retention, recovery, and accountability requirements.
Workload Teams
Workload teams own workload integration, stewardship participation, operational implementation, and workload-specific protection architecture.
Automation Pattern
Data-protection architectures should be implemented through approved platform automation whenever practical.
Automation may support:
- Protection-service onboarding
- Recovery-service integration
- Monitoring integration
- Identity integration
- Retention-service integration
- Landing Zone integration
- Workload onboarding
- Protection-architecture validation
Protection Definition
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+-- Protection Services
+-- Recovery Integration
+-- Monitoring Integration
+-- Identity Integration
+-- Governance Integration
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v
Reusable Protection Components
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v
Landing Zone or Workload Deployment
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v
Integrated Data Protection Architecture
Protection-automation components should be reusable across supported hosting architectures, workload classifications, and platform products.
Reference Architecture Outcomes
A workload implementing this pattern should provide:
- Data protection architecture
- Data confidentiality support
- Data integrity support
- Data recovery support
- Data lifecycle integration
- Data classification integration
- Identity integration
- Monitoring integration
- Recovery integration
- Shared-service integration
- Reusable protection architecture
- Repeatable onboarding
- Support for workload and obligation-specific extensions
Exceptions
Exceptions to this pattern must follow approved architecture governance and information security exception processes.
Approved exceptions must be periodically reviewed and must not be treated as permanent architecture patterns.