Apparently, IT Security folks may be estimating the value of the data wrongly - Some datasets like R&D data, pricing models, source code, M&A documents and signed employment agreements are worth substantially more to organizations that other assets such as product manufacturing and engineering workflows, signed customer contracts, budget and accounting data and network design documents.

The survey also showed that data value — for certain types of data — decreases over time because of a decline in relevancy. For instance, R&D documents in the manufacturing function that are less than one year old are valued at more than $873,380. The value of the same data declines to about $492,700 if it is older than a year

Similarly, fresh legal documents that are less than a year old are valued at some $508,640 and those that are older than one year at $120,911.

Similarly, the cost associated with a data leak involving R&D documents, at $661,400, is substantially higher than the costs of a breach that involves product-manufacturing workflows ($106,520)

The data shows that organizations need to manage data as an asset and not just as a liability, Abbott says. 

IT security groups need to be thinking about assigning values to data types based on factors like business use, age, how much it would cost to reproduce, how much it would cost if lost or in the wrong hands, Abbott says.

https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities---threats/incorrect-assessments-of-data-value-putting-organizations-at-risk/d/d-id/1333362