Protection of confidential information

To meet the protection of confidential information requirement under TISAX, you must implement enforceable controls that govern how shared automotive confidential data is classified, accessed, handled, transmitted, stored, and disposed of, with evidence that the controls operate in daily work. Focus on data classification plus access restrictions, then prove both with audit-ready artifacts. ¹

Key takeaways:

• Define “confidential automotive data” in your environment and classify it consistently across systems and teams. ¹
• Restrict access by role, project, and need-to-know, and make handling rules executable (not just policy). ¹
• Retain evidence that controls run: access approvals, logs, training, labeling samples, secure transfer records, and exception decisions. ¹

“Protection of confidential information” in TISAX is an operational requirement, not a document requirement. Assessors will look for controls that actually prevent unauthorized disclosure of customer, partner, and program data commonly exchanged in automotive supply chains (for example, drawings, BOMs, specifications, prototype data, pricing, and incident reports). Your job as a Compliance Officer, CCO, or GRC lead is to translate that into enforceable rules across people, process, and technology, and to keep evidence that the rules work.

This page gives requirement-level implementation guidance for the protection of confidential information requirement, with a fast path to execution. It prioritizes the practical control set called out in the provided baseline guidance: handling, classification, and access restrictions. ¹ You’ll also get a 30/60/90-day plan, an evidence checklist you can hand to control owners, and the exam-style questions that typically expose gaps (especially around scope, exceptions, and third-party sharing).

Regulatory text

Provided excerpt (not licensed standard text): “Baseline implementation-intent summary derived from publicly available framework overviews; licensed standard text is not reproduced in this record.” ¹

Implementation-intent summary: “Apply controls to protect shared confidential automotive data.” ¹

What the operator must do: You need defined and enforced controls that protect confidential automotive information that is shared inside your organization and with third parties. At minimum, implement (and be able to prove) consistent classification and handling rules, plus access restrictions aligned to need-to-know. ¹

Plain-English interpretation (what this requirement is asking for)

The protection of confidential information requirement means: once you receive or create confidential automotive data, you must control who can see it, how it is labeled, where it can be stored, how it can be sent, and how it is disposed of. The controls must work in practice, including for external sharing with third parties and for day-to-day collaboration.

In scope data usually includes:

• Customer and OEM information subject to NDAs, project secrecy, or contractual confidentiality
• Engineering assets (CAD, drawings, specifications), quality data, and testing results
• Commercial information (quotes, pricing, supplier terms)
• Any confidential information received from third parties as part of automotive programs

Your enforcement story should be simple: “We classify it, we restrict it, we monitor it, and we can show you proof.”

Who it applies to (entity + operational context)

This requirement applies to automotive suppliers and automotive service providers participating in the TISAX ecosystem. ¹

Operationally, it applies wherever confidential automotive data is processed, including:

• Engineering, R&D, product management, and quality teams
• Program management and customer-facing functions
• IT operations supporting storage, collaboration, endpoint devices, identity, and logging
• Third-party collaboration paths: file transfers, shared project spaces, email, ticketing systems, and outsourced services

If you do joint development or handle customer-provided files, assume assessors will focus here first.

What you actually need to do (step-by-step)

The fastest way to operationalize the protection of confidential information requirement is to build a closed loop: classify → restrict → handle → share securely → prove operation → manage exceptions.

Step 1: Define “confidential” and map it to a classification scheme

1. Write a one-page data classification standard that includes at least:
   • “Confidential” (or equivalent) definition tailored to automotive sharing expectations
   • Examples (CAD, drawings, quote packages, prototype photos)
   • Required handling rules per class (storage, sharing, printing, disposal)
2. Decide where classification lives:
   • As metadata labels in M365/Google/your DMS, plus document headers/footers for files that leave the environment
3. Publish a quick reference (table format) that users can follow without interpretation.

Exam focus: “Show me how an engineer knows whether a file is confidential and what they must do differently.”

Step 2: Implement access restrictions that match the classification

1. Define access control principles:
   • Need-to-know, least privilege, and separation by project/customer where applicable
2. Implement role/project-based access for repositories that store confidential data:
   • DMS, SharePoint/Teams, engineering PLM, ticketing attachments, source code repos
3. Require approvals for granting access to confidential project spaces:
   • Approver should be the data owner (program lead) or their delegate
4. Review access when people change roles or leave:
   • Tie to HR offboarding and internal transfers

Minimum viable control: restrict confidential repositories to named groups, not “all employees.”

Step 3: Make handling rules executable (not aspirational)

1. Storage:
   • Require confidential data to be stored only in approved systems (DMS/PLM, managed cloud drives)
   • Prohibit local-only storage unless encrypted and justified by a documented exception
2. Transmission:
   • Define approved sharing methods (secure file transfer, controlled guest access, encrypted email if necessary)
   • Prohibit ad hoc consumer tools for confidential transfers
3. Printing and physical handling (if relevant):
   • Rules for printing confidential drawings, clean desk expectations, and secure disposal

Assessor mindset: a policy that says “protect data” will fail if teams still email uncontrolled attachments externally.

Step 4: Control third-party sharing (where most confidentiality failures happen)

1. Create a “share package” checklist for sending confidential files to a third party:
   • Confirm NDA/contract confidentiality terms exist
   • Confirm recipient identity and authorized personnel list (named users or domain restrictions)
   • Confirm minimum necessary files (no full data dumps by default)
   • Confirm approved transfer channel used
2. For recurring third parties, establish a controlled collaboration space:
   • Separate project workspace, time-bound access, and periodic access review
3. Require exception handling for urgent/unusual transfers:
   • Document who approved, what was sent, to whom, why, and when it expires

This is where Daydream fits naturally: track third-party access requests, approvals, and evidence collection in a single place so your “who shared what with whom” story is easy to produce during assessment.

Step 5: Train, test, and validate in real workflows

1. Provide targeted training for functions that handle confidential automotive data:
   • Engineering, program teams, sales/commercial, IT admins
2. Run a monthly spot check:
   • Sample a small set of recently modified files in key repositories
   • Verify classification label present and access group correct
3. Test one “external share” flow end-to-end:
   • Confirm you can demonstrate the approved method and record of approval

Step 6: Logging and monitoring (prove you can detect misuse)

1. Turn on audit logs for key systems that store/share confidential data
2. Define what “suspicious” looks like for your environment:
   • Large exports, unusual external sharing, access from unexpected locations, mass permission changes
3. Establish a response path:
   • If confidential data is exposed, route to security incident handling and legal/contract notifications as applicable

Keep this pragmatic. The goal is defensible detection and traceability, not a SOC rebuild.

Step 7: Exceptions and risk acceptance

1. Define allowable exceptions (examples: customer-mandated tool, urgent transfer under time pressure)
2. Require written approval by a data owner and security/compliance sign-off where needed
3. Set expiration dates and review exceptions regularly

Exceptions without expiry are a common audit sinkhole.

Required evidence and artifacts to retain (audit-ready)

Use this list as your evidence register for the protection of confidential information requirement:

Policy and standards

• Data classification and handling standard (current, approved, communicated)
• Secure sharing standard (approved channels and prohibited channels)
• Third-party data sharing procedure/checklist

Operational artifacts (proof of operation)

• Samples of labeled documents (screenshots or exported metadata)
• Access request and approval records for confidential repositories/project spaces
• Group membership exports for key confidential systems (with owner and purpose)
• Access review records (who reviewed, what changed, sign-off)
• Secure transfer records (SFTP logs, managed sharing audit trails, guest access logs)
• Training completion records for in-scope roles
• Exception register with approvals and expirations
• Incident tickets related to mis-sharing or confidentiality events (sanitized as needed)

Common exam/audit questions and hangups

Expect these questions, and pre-build the answer packet:

1. “Define confidential information in your environment.”
   Hangup: teams use different definitions. Fix with a single standard plus examples.

2. “Show me a confidential file and prove it’s controlled.”
   Hangup: labeling exists, but access is open. Pair label + access group + audit log.

3. “How do you control sharing with third parties?”
   Hangup: NDA exists but no operational gate. Add share checklist + approval record + controlled channel.

4. “How do you ensure access is removed promptly?”
   Hangup: offboarding works; internal transfers don’t. Tie access changes to role changes.

5. “What happens when the business needs an exception?”
   Hangup: exceptions live in email threads. Centralize exceptions in a register.

Frequent implementation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• Mistake: Policy-only compliance.
  Fix: add technical enforcement (group-based access, approved repositories, audit logs) and keep samples.

• Mistake: Classification labels without handling rules.
  Fix: for each classification, specify allowed storage and sharing methods. Train on the table, not the prose.

• Mistake: Third-party sharing is unmanaged.
  Fix: require a documented approval and an approved channel for every confidential external share, even if it’s lightweight.

• Mistake: Overbroad access (“everyone in Engineering”).
  Fix: make access project- or program-scoped, with named owners and periodic review.

• Mistake: No evidence trail.
  Fix: build an evidence register now; assign owners per artifact; collect samples monthly.

Enforcement context and risk implications

No public enforcement cases were provided in the source catalog for this requirement, so this page does not cite specific actions or penalties. ¹

Operational risk remains concrete:

• Confidentiality failures can trigger contractual claims, loss of customer trust, and disqualification from future programs.
• Poor evidence creates assessment risk even when controls exist, because TISAX outcomes depend on what you can demonstrate. ¹

A practical 30/60/90-day execution plan

Day 0–30: Stabilize and define

• Publish data classification and handling standard with concrete examples. ¹
• Identify “systems of record” for confidential data and block new confidential storage outside them.
• Stand up an access request/approval workflow for confidential repositories.
• Create an evidence register and start collecting: labeled file samples, access approvals, sharing logs.

Day 31–60: Enforce and prove

• Implement project-based access groups for top confidential repositories.
• Turn on and validate audit logging for storage and sharing platforms.
• Deploy the third-party share checklist and require it for outbound confidential transfers.
• Run spot checks and document findings, fixes, and sign-offs.

Day 61–90: Operational maturity

• Launch recurring access reviews for confidential project spaces.
• Establish exception register with expirations and review cadence.
• Run a tabletop test: “confidential file shared incorrectly” and capture lessons learned.
• Package assessor-ready evidence: policies, workflows, samples, logs, and review records.

Daydream can reduce friction here by centralizing control ownership, evidence requests, and third-party access approvals so you do not chase proof across email, tickets, and shared drives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as “confidential automotive data” for this requirement?

Treat any customer, OEM, or partner information received under confidentiality terms, plus your own sensitive program data shared externally, as confidential. Align the definition to your contracts and program rules, then codify it in your classification standard. ¹

Do we need a specific tool for data classification labels?

No tool is mandated by the provided baseline summary, but you need consistent classification and enforceable handling. If your current platforms cannot apply labels or control access reliably, document compensating controls and a roadmap. ¹

How do we handle confidential data in email without breaking the business?

Define when email is allowed, require an approved protection method (such as encrypted email or protected attachments), and keep audit trails. If email cannot be controlled, move sharing to an approved managed channel and document the rule. ¹

What evidence is most persuasive to an assessor?

Show the chain: classification standard, labeled artifacts, restricted access groups, access approvals, and logs demonstrating controlled internal and external sharing. Add access review records and an exception register to prove governance. ¹

How should we manage confidential sharing with a third party’s subcontractor?

Treat the subcontractor as a third party and require explicit authorization before sharing, using the same approved channel and approval workflow. Record who approved the onward transfer and what was shared. ¹

We already have NDAs. Why isn’t that enough?

NDAs set obligations but do not implement controls. TISAX expects operational protection through classification, handling rules, and access restrictions that you can demonstrate with evidence. ¹

Related compliance topics

• 2025 SEC Marketing Rule Examination Focus Areas
• Access and identity controls
• Access Control (AC)
• Access control and identity discipline
• Access control management

Footnotes

1. ENX TISAX overview