data classificationNot all data is created equal. Sensitive customer records require stricter protection than marketing campaign data. This is where automated data classification comes in. It's the process of identifying and labelling data based on its sensitivity, ensuring appropriate data security measures are applied.

Why Data Classification Matters

Data breaches can be costly and damaging but not all breaches involve stolen data. Sometimes, sensitive information is simply misplaced or accessed by unauthorized personnel due to a lack of classification. Here's why classifying data is essential:

  • Enhanced Security: Classification helps you prioritize security efforts. Sensitive data receives the strongest protection, minimizing risk.
  • Improved Compliance: Regulations like PoPIA or PCI-DSS mandate data classification for specific data types. Classification helps ensure compliance.
  • Streamlined Access Control: By understanding data sensitivity, you can set appropriate access permissions, ensuring only authorized users can view specific data.

Pathlock and Satori: Automated Data Classification

Several solutions can help you organize your data. Here's how Pathlock and Satori approach automated data discovery and classification:

Pathlock

Pathlock emphasizes automation and integration with ERP, CRM and IAM tools. It offers features like:

  • Automated Data Discovery: Automatically identify and classify data across your systems, saving manual effort
  • Policy-Based Classification: Establish pre-defined rules to automatically classify data based on its content or location.
  • Contextual Data Analysis: Machine-Learning uses data relationships and user behaviour to identify potentially sensitive data

Satori

Satori focuses on user-friendly classification across your analytics landscape, on-premise and in the cloud. Here are some strengths:

  • Data Store Discovery: Discover and protect all data stores combatting "shadow IT" systems and uncontrolled data access with automated rules and policies
  • Dynamic Mapping: Continually detect and classify sensitive data to maintain a current inventory
  • Data Security Policies: Centrally set and apply access policies and apply across all systems without writing code.

Classifying for Clarity

Classifying data is a critical step towards data security. By implementing a solution like Pathlock or Satori, you can gain control over your data landscape, prioritize security measures, and ensure compliance with regulations. Remember, classifying data is an ongoing process, requiring continuous monitoring and refinement for optimal effectiveness.

FAQ Confidential Data Classification

Confidential data refers to any information that, if accessed by unauthorized individuals, could put an organization or individuals at risk. This can include:

    • Personally identifiable information (PII): Names, addresses, social security numbers, medical records, financial data.
    • Intellectual property: Trade secrets, research data, product designs, marketing strategies.
    • Financial information: Bank account numbers, credit card details, transaction records.
    • Sensitive business data: Customer lists, employee records, internal reports, strategic plans.

Classifying confidential data helps organizations understand the level of risk associated with different types of information and implement appropriate security measures. It also helps to:

    • Simplify access control: By identifying which data is most sensitive, organizations can restrict access to only authorized users.
    • Focus security efforts: Resources can be prioritized to better protect the most critical data.
    • Demonstrate compliance: Classifying data helps organizations comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
    • Reduce the risk of data breaches: Knowing where your sensitive data is located and how it is classified makes it easier to protect it from unauthorized access and cyberattacks.

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