Today’s organizations have many tools at their disposal to help workers be more productive, but those tools come at a price. Data is increasing exponentially, and organizations have a responsibility to handle and protect it appropriately – from collected data to internal documents that contain sensitive information.
I’ve worked with many customers and prospects over the years and I’ve learned a lot about how valuable data classification is for building a foundation to protect any organization’s data.
The following three data classification use cases show how organizations can leverage classification to ensure data is protected from creation to deletion.
1) Identify the data you have and where it’s stored
Data identification works like an inventory of valuables for insurance. The data is appraised to determine its value. Is it internal or even restricted content? Or is it content that’s for customer consumption?
By identifying the value of what you have and knowing where it’s stored, you can take the right steps to protect it based on its value to the business, starting with classifying the data.
2) Empower your data security ecosystem
The demands of data protection today require significant investments in time and tools for organizations to meet compliance regulations and maintain the trust of consumers. That means using a variety of tools to build a secure infrastructure that covers the various platforms that enable productivity in your organization.
Data classification helps inform the other tools in your security program with embedded metadata, so they properly handle data.
3) Enable users to be part of the security solution
Technology doesn’t replace the need for human input. Giving users a tool that helps them stop and think about the value of the data they’re handling every day spreads the accountability across your organization.
People know their data best, so who better to take that first step of identifying and classifying the data to be protected through its lifecycle?
Learn more about how you can leverage data classification to protect your data
Join me for a webinar on October 4 at 1 p.m. EDT to learn how you can use data classification to strengthen your organization’s approach to information and data security.
Garrett Bekker, Principal Analyst, Information Security at 451 Research will join me to show how to build a business case for data classification so you can win the support of your executives, business unit leaders and employees.
Register to attend the webinar now!
Written by: Matt Luckett
Matt Luckett is a business and systems analyst who collaborates with our clients to ensure their business needs to protect data are fulfilled throughout the process.