The kinds of data that require special care, attention and protection differ from one organization to another. Data that is sensitive can range from highly personal information to intellectual property, which is the crown jewels of an enterprise. It could also contain regulated data or dark data that’s hidden in silos shadow servers and other data streams — which are usually at greater risk of leakage or breach.
Protecting Sensitive Data involves applying the principles of management of information lifecycles to control the entire lifecycle of data from its creation until its eventual destruction. It begins with a thorough assessment and classification of all data assets. Then, it moves on to monitoring the entire data environment for any unusual behavior that could indicate the possibility of a security risk such as supply chain vulnerabilities or insider threat scenarios.
What is considered to be sensitive information depends on regulatory frameworks including privacy policies, laws and regulations. For example, PII is a key target for cybercriminals since it can be used to identify an individual as well as open credit accounts and make fraudulent purchases. The loss of this information could have grave consequences for individuals. It can also affect the trust and brand reputation of companies that are found to have erred in handling PII information in the event of a data breach or another security incident.
Other categories of sensitive data include PII (such as credit card numbers or bank account numbers) as well as proprietary and confidential health information, technical data protected by copyrights and patents, and data specific to a specific business protected by internal policies. Data that’s regulated and subject to compliance requirements may also be considered sensitive, as are dark or unstructured data like documents and emails.
Protecting sensitive information usually requires implementing a multifaceted data protection strategy that includes safeguarding physical, cloud-based and virtual data assets. It may also involve encryption, redaction of data and other methods that reduce the chance of sensitive information becoming compromised.
To help ensure that only authorized employees have access to access the kinds of data that need extra protection create an extremely strict set of policies and procedures that must be followed by all employees. For example, ensure that new hires sign a software per data room virtuale contract to adhere to the security and confidentiality standards prior to when they are granted access to sensitive information. You should implement procedures to ensure that employees who leave the company or transfer to a different department don’t carry sensitive information with themselves. This could include removing their passwords, obtaining keys or identification cards, and taking other steps to ensure they are not able to access sensitive data once they leave the premises. Every week, remind employees of your company’s data privacy policy and the importance of protecting sensitive information.
