Which role has the legal responsibility to protect an organization's assets?

The role that has the legal responsibility to protect an organization's assets is the senior manager. This is primarily because senior managers are tasked with overseeing the strategic direction of the organization and ensuring that all assets, including data, systems, and physical resources, are managed in compliance with legal, regulatory, and policy requirements. They play a crucial role in risk management and are held accountable for the overall security posture of the organization.

While other roles such as data owners and data custodians have significant responsibilities related to data management and protection, their responsibilities are often more focused on specific types of information or assets rather than the organization's entire spectrum of assets. Data owners are responsible for determining access and usage policies for their data, while data custodians typically implement protection and operational management of data. Therefore, the senior manager ultimately holds the legal accountability for safeguarding all organizational assets, aligning security practices with business goals, and ensuring compliance with applicable laws.