Criminal Justice Information, or CJI, is sensitive data used in criminal justice operations, such as records, case details, and related identifiers protected under CJIS policy. Because this information supports policing, courts, and investigations, it is treated as high-value data that must be guarded against theft, tampering, and unauthorized disclosure.
In cyber security, CJI matters because attackers often target systems that store or transmit it through phishing, stolen credentials, misconfigured remote access, or unpatched servers. Defenders must protect CJI with strong access control, multi-factor authentication, encryption in transit and at rest, logging, and regular vulnerability scanning. They also need clear data-flow maps so they know where CJI is stored, who can reach it, and whether a system sits inside a physically secure location or outside it. Under CJIS policy, the goal is not only to have controls, but to prove they work.