About data-flow diagrams

On this page:

Overview
Features
Applications and resources

Overview

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A fundamental step in protecting Indiana University institutional data is understanding how the data is stored and transmitted, and who has access from collection to disposal. Data-flow diagrams help illustrate this lifecycle. Diagrams are particularly useful because they can reduce a long text description to an image that's easy to understand. Well-maintained diagrams help system administrators prioritize security controls and speed up information risk assessments.

Features

Data-flow diagrams may have various images and labels that indicate:

Data encrypted in-transit
Protocols used to transmit data
Servers
Databases
Whether data is encrypted at rest
Firewalls
Data Centers
Users
Data subjects from whom data is collected
External entities to which data is transmitted

Note:

Data-flow diagrams should not be confused with network architecture diagrams, which are more comprehensive for security protections.

Applications and resources

Consider using one of the following resources to create and maintain your data-flow diagrams.

Visio (available via IUanyware)
Diagrams.net
PowerPoint
Microsoft Word (insert shapes)

You may also scan a pen-and-paper drawing of your diagram. Note that this approach may impede maintenance efforts.