You might know the old saying, “What gets measured gets managed.” It rings true even in the IT sector. But there’s a catch—how can you manage and measure what you can’t see?

The struggle is real for IT executives and their internal teams that protect and secure sensitive data. Wrapping your head around the amount of data within an organization is quickly becoming next to impossible.

These days, organizations are pumping out data by tons. Back in 2020 alone, a staggering 44 zettabytes were churned out daily, and that number is projected to soar to 175 zettabytes a day by 2025.

But the sheer volume isn’t the primary concern when it comes to data security. The real headache is that this data is scattered far and wide across various on-premises and cloud environments. And to top it off, it comes in various forms and formats.

Identifying every single byte of data has become tricky, and any data left undefined increases the risk of unauthorized access or misuse.

In this article, we’ll share the best practices you need to employ to improve sensitive data visibility and control, helping your organization stay safe and secure.

Comprehensive Data Discovery

Today’s enterprise data landscape is more complex than ever, with up to 90% of it being unstructured—think productivity documents, emails, photos, and social media posts.

Wrangling this data has become a real headache, mainly because it’s scattered across diverse locations, and traditional discovery tools struggle to make sense of it all.

Plus, sensitive data has taken various forms, from credit card details and financial information to personally identifiable information (PII), location data, and even genetic and biometric data.

The sheer variety of formats in which this sensitive information is hidden dramatically increases the risk of false-positive alerts.

You might think, “What’s the big deal with false positives?” For the already overburdened IT and security teams, it’s a huge deal. Imagine sifting through as many as 4,000 alerts per week, only to find that a significant chunk of them is a wild goose chase.

This can eat up 25% of their valuable time. Hundreds, if not thousands, of hours each year are wasted on fruitless investigations, diverting attention from real security threats and more critical IT endeavors.

It can discover all data stores, assets, and users, regardless of their location and content. This comprehensive data discovery helps you better understand your data landscape, improving your overall data security posture.

Data Classification

Data discovery and classification are like two peas in a pod—you can’t have one without the other.

Once you have all your data discovered, you have to label it, tag it, and give it visual markers so both humans and machines can figure out how sensitive it is and treat it accordingly. It is sometimes easier to do that the other way around; define and then search for it based on matchers applicable to the data you’ve classified.

These classifications ensure only the right people can get their hands on the sensitive data as it moves through the whole organization. And it also helps with sharing info while keeping it safe with other data protection measures.

Understanding sensitive data requires proper security and keeping up with data privacy rules. Data loss prevention (DLP) is not enough, as privacy is not just about losing data; it’s more than that.

Define Access Controls

It’s pretty standard for access to information to get overly restrictive, and we end up with information silos.

Now, there’s no denying the importance of access control and that there’s a need for the security and protection of business information, but we also need to find a fair balance with accessibility. Here are a few steps you need to go through to find that balance:

Access Control Principles

First things first—we need some guiding principles to make sense of it all. These principles can cover things like who gets access (approved by a registered owner), sharing personal data, and deciding access based on roles and groups.

Who Determines Access? 

Figure out who’s in charge of granting access. Do you have some Information Asset Owners who know the whole deal? And are they going to pass on the responsibility to a Line Manager?

Who Ensures Appropriate Access Is Implemented?

Will it be the helpdesk, or maybe you need some Information Champions to keep an eye on things and ensure access is fair?

How Will Access Be Documented?

You need to document these access controls so there’s proof of what access is given to whom. Put it in an Information Asset Register, a helpdesk system, or even Active Directory.

How The Access Controls Will Be Implemented

Do we have a Business Classification Scheme or an Electronic document and records management system (eDRMS) that’ll help us get this done?

And when new employees come on board or someone leaves, you need to ensure access is set up, changed, or taken away as needed.

Periodic Audit Procedure

Regularly check if your access controls are still up to the standards and match what you need. You might need the assistance of the helpdesk or Information Champions in this.

Encryption & Data Masking

Data encryption and masking are powerful techniques to protect sensitive information from unauthorized viewing. It turns your information into unreadable gibberish, so even if someone tries to intrude, they won’t make heads or tails of it.

Consider using secure VPN measures to help you encrypt data during transmission. For the data stored in servers, consider using both endpoint security and data-centric data-at-rest protection solutions.

The primary means of data-centric security is data masking, which substitutes original data with fictional data while maintaining the data’s format. This way, people like developers can work with the needed data without seeing any sensitive bits.

Masking functions like encryption, redaction, shuffling, and pseudonymization (substitution) are what protect only the most sensitive aspects of data while still maintaining access to the rest.

One of the best data masking tools we know of is IRI DarkShield. DarkShield can classify, locate, and mask data in structured, semi-structured, and unstructured sources on-premise and in the cloud using multiple AI-powered search methods and consistent masking rules that preserve data integrity.

Real-Time Monitoring & Auditing

Deploying real-time monitoring and auditing mechanisms allows you to track data access and changes continuously.

It provides insights into who accessed what data. With this real-time insight, you can spot any suspicious activity quickly and nip potential security breaches in the bud. 

Regular audits also help maintain compliance with data protection regulations. Review access logs and changes to be sure that your data stays safe and sound. 

The IRI Ripcurrent change data capture module in the IRI Voracity data management platform (which also includes DarkShield and FieldShield software) is an available technology solution to masking new data in real-time, and notifying DBAs of changes to database structures.

Wrapping Up

Having good data visibility and control means you can do less fixing up when you make bad decisions or oversee any risks.

Following the practices mentioned in the article, you can be sure that your sensitive data is secure, and this protection doesn’t come in the way of your daily operations, giving you better odds of success.