Discover the Top 5 XDR Use Cases for Today’s Cyber Threat Landscape
As data travels across networks, it becomes vulnerable to interception. To safeguard
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to any data that can be used to identify, locate, or contact an individual. It includes information that, when combined with other data, can reveal sensitive personal data. The PII protection is a critical concern for organizations, given its potential misuse in fraudulent activities.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) encompasses a wide range of data that can be used to uniquely identify an individual. This can include:
Sensitive personal data covers particularly sensitive data that requires heightened security measures. Examples include:
This list is not exhaustive, as the definition of PII can vary depending on the specific context, industry, and applicable personally identifiable information regulations.
The consequences of a PII security leak can be dire:
The ever-changing nature of data, along with the constant evolution in regulatory expectations, makes identifying and safeguarding personally identifiable information particularly challenging for organizations.
The massive volume and often distributed architecture of an organization’s data landscape makes assessing where PII may exist a significant challenge. PII may be sitting in a structured database, scattered across emails, stored in the cloud or contained on employee devices. Additionally, institutions have to classify data based on sensitivity. The information that is more prone to data breaches should be prioritized.
International personally identifiable information regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA necessitate stringent compliance for PII security including how it is handled, stored, and processed. Indeed, each general data protection regulation has its own set of requirements, which adds a layer of confusion and complication for organizations that are established in different countries. Consequences of not complying include heavy fines and loss of public trust.
Traditional security products are rarely sufficient in identifying and safeguarding personally identifiable information. Traditional approaches simply don’t deliver the accuracy and agility to combat new threats such as phishing, insider attacks, and advanced malware targeting PII security. Sensitive data still remains unprotected due to the lack of real-time observation and automated responses.
These challenges are proving to be a big hurdle for identifying and safeguarding personally identifiable information. To overcome these challenges organizations are continuously relying on Data Loss Prevention solutions. Let’s check how DLP is able to address the issues in question.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions play a crucial role in ensuring the protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and the hurdles organizations face in protecting their critical data.
The main job of a DLP solution is data discovery and classification, this allows organizations to find and classify PII in all storage environments (on-premise, cloud, endpoints). Having visibility into where PII is located, and its sensitivity allows businesses to implement tailored PII protection measures.
In addition, DLP solutions provide a real-time monitor and policy enforcement for access, sharing or exfiltration of sensitive information. They can analyze both data-in-transit and data-at-rest, checking for PII compliance with regulatory frameworks including GDPR, HIPAA and CCPA, by automatically blocking actions that could violate legal requirements.
Moreover, DLP also helps detect anomalies and mitigate threats by recognizing unusual access or transfer patterns, thus aiding in protecting against insider threats and cyberattacks focused on PII.
Data Loss Prevention solutions include a lot of promising technology, making them capable of functioning with different data environments that can range from hybrid to complex personal data security situations, overcoming the shortcomings of traditional data security controls.
The clock starts ticking after a security incident. Learn how to:
A strong Data Loss Prevention (DLP) program is important to secure Personally Identifiable Information and reduce the risk of a data breaches. Here’s a step-by-step methodology to execute an efficient DLP strategy:
Robust Data Discovery and PII data Classification: Fidelis Network® can discover PII across all environments—on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments—so organizations can protect sensitive data.
Regulatory Compliance: Generic templates and policies are consistent with GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, making PII security compliance easier for organizations.
Real-Time Protection: Monitor sensitive data-in-motion and data-at-rest processes to protect sensitive data breaches from unauthorized access, sharing, and exfiltration.
Enhanced Threat Intelligence: With powerful machine learning capabilities, Fidelis Network® can proactively identify anomalies, insider threats, and external cyberattacks.
Scalability and Flexibility: A perfect fit for organizations of any size, Fidelis Network® innovates with your dynamic security needs and changing data environments.
By adopting Fidelis Network® DLP solutions, organizations will protect PII and reinforce its overall security posture and make it secure, private, and trusted.
Find out in our network DLP buying guide! This guide discusses:
Organizations that collect, store, or process PII are responsible for protecting it. This includes implementing security measures, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations, and training employees in best practices.
See Fidelis in action. Learn how our fast and scalable platforms provide full visibility, deep insights, and rapid response to help security teams across the World protect, detect, respond, and neutralize advanced cyber adversaries.