User driven classification - enhancing awareness of the value of data

User driven classification can have a dramatic impact on the culture and awareness of data security within your business. Aside from the benefits of classifying your data, user driven classification will make your teams aware of the value of data within your business, making it a more data secure savvy place to be and reducing data loss episodes.

What is user driven classification?

User driven classification requires users to classify data into pre-set classification groups at the point of data creation.

Whilst it may sound technical, with a classification solution that integrates seamlessly into your user’s standard software such as Microsoft Word or AutoCAD, classification becomes as simple as changing font.

As classification is the responsibility of the data creator, it is likely to be more accurate than alternative automated methods. Although, when it comes to your litany of legacy data, user driven classification becomes impractical. View legacy data classification solution.

  • With modern Data Classification techniques, many data management tasks can be automated or enhanced by solutions that read metadata
  • Applied during the classification process to determine how each piece of data is treated throughout each stage of its life cycle.
  • Not only does the application of metatags help to ease the load when it comes to handling your data, it can also be used to

Fail safe classification

It’s easy to forget to number a page, and most of us have felt that panic rise as we realise we’ve forgotten to save a document. Data classification solutions mean that forgetting to classify a document isn’t an option. For users who don’t classify a file, a prompt will appear on screen to remind them.

And because data classification software can integrate with your DLP, Encryption and other security software, it’s one less thing for your users to worry about.

User driven classification friendly platforms

It isn’t just Office that supports this kind of seamless integration of user driven data classification. Other software that supports data classification includes:

  • Email
  • Desktop
  • OWA
  • Mobile
  • Microsoft office
  • Google Docs
  • Databases (such as SAP and Sharepoint).

Deployments

We secure the entire journey of your data, from consultancy and technical design, right through to installation, training and support.

Challenge: Controlling data with vast user access

With over 4000 end users, an Insurance industry client came to HANDD for help. They needed to ensure policy details couldn’t be sent to unauthorised external parties by email. Using data classification, we identified and classified new documents containing policy numbers. Then we integrated the classification platform with the client’s Symantec DLP solution, enabling DLP to work more efficiently to ensure sensitive content only travels to cleared recipients.

Challenge: Managing compliance with large volumes of legacy data

With billions of records to sift through and strict compliance mandates, a global bank needed to get control over their legacy data. First, using a discovery tool HANDD helped them identify their sensitive data and discover where it was stored. Then, we labelled their data using Data Classification. This enabled them to apply protective measures efficiently to their most sensitive files for the first time.

Challenge: Ad-hoc application of protective measures

Staff typing SECURE into email subject lines to trigger downstream protection of sensitive data left plenty of scope for error. At this leading financial services organisation classification was inconsistent and ad-hoc. Security of delivery was unreliable. They contacted HANDD for help improving their classification processes. We implemented a Data Classification solution that would automatically classify emails. Integrating with a message gateway it prevents data falling into the wrong hands.

Challenge: Controlling data with vast user access

With over 4000 end users, an Insurance industry client came to HANDD for help. They needed to ensure policy details couldn’t be sent to unauthorised external parties by email. Using data classification, we identified and classified new documents containing policy numbers. Then we integrated the classification platform with the client’s Symantec DLP solution, enabling DLP to work more efficiently to ensure sensitive content only travels to cleared recipients.

With billions of records to sift through and strict compliance mandates, a global bank needed to get control over their legacy data. First, using a discovery tool HANDD helped them identify their sensitive data and discover where it was stored. Then, we labelled their data using Data Classification. This enabled them to apply protective measures efficiently to their most sensitive files for the first time.

Staff typing SECURE into email subject lines to trigger downstream protection of sensitive data left plenty of scope for error. At this leading financial services organisation classification was inconsistent and ad-hoc. Security of delivery was unreliable. They contacted HANDD for help improving their classification processes. We implemented a Data Classification solution that would automatically classify emails. Integrating with a message gateway it prevents data falling into the wrong hands.

Securing the Journey of Your Data
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