Understanding Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
What is PII Data?
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.
Types of PII Data
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) encompasses a wide range of data that can be used to uniquely identify an individual. This can include:
Direct Identifiers
- Names
- Contact Information such as contact no. or email id.
- Government-Issued Identifiers such as passport no.
- Financial Information such as financial transactions
- Healthcare Information such as medical records and medical history.
Indirect Identifiers
- Biometric records: Fingerprints, facial recognition data, voice recordings, DNA
- Online Identifiers: IP addresses, cookies, browsing history, location data, social media profiles
- Employment Information: Job titles, employer names, salary information, performance reviews
- Education Information: School names, degrees earned, academic transcripts
Sensitive PII
Sensitive personal data covers particularly sensitive data that requires heightened security measures. Examples include:
- Religious beliefs
- Political affiliations
- Sexual orientation
- Racial or ethnic origin
This list is not exhaustive, as the definition of PII can vary depending on the specific context, industry, and applicable personally identifiable information regulations.
Consequences of PII security data breach
The consequences of a PII security leak can be dire:
- Identity Theft: Stolen data can allow impersonation of individuals and lead to opening of fraudulent accounts or other types of identity fraud.
- Financial Loss: Stolen PII leads to victim suffering from financial loss as with some fraudulent transactions or using stolen personally identifiable financial information (PII) to for unauthorized activity.
- Reputational Harm: Data breaches specifically of PII security data can lead to a company losing their customers’ trust and leaves long-lasting damage to the brand reputation.
- Legal Consequences: Different countries have different laws aiming to protect the data privacy of their citizens. Some of those information security laws are GDPR, FERPA, HIPAA, and CCPA. Proven mishandling of PII can lead to significant penalties as per those laws.
- PII Compliance Violations: Not securing PII can result in non-compliance with regulatory requirements, disrupting business operations and incurring fines and penalties.
Challenges in Identifying and Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information

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.
Difficulty in locating and categorizing PII within organizational data.
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.
Overlapping regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA).
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.
Limitations of traditional security measures in protecting PII.
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.
Role of DLP Solutions in Protecting PII
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:
- Contain threats before they escalate
- Manage incidents to minimize impact
- Strengthen your response for the future
Implementing an Effective DLP Strategy to protect Sensitive Data
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:
Conduct a Data Inventory
- Determine where PII is stored, processed, or transmitted;
- Classify PII as financial information, health information, or basic identifiers.
- Use automated tools to detect PII security across on-premises, cloud, and endpoint systems.
Define Clear Policies
- Create and enforce PII usage, access, and sharing policy
- Include specific rules for data encryption, email handling and external file transfers.
- Alling policy compliance with industry -based data privacy regulations (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA).
Deploy Comprehensive DLP Solutions
- Opt for a DLP solution that offers strong features like PII classification and real-time data scanning.
- Integrate the solution throughout your IT environment of endpoints, networks, and cloud environments.
- Set up policy-based alerts to ensure no one accesses or shares data unauthorized.
Educate Employees
- Hold regular training sessions to educate staff about PII security and proper personal data security handling practices.
- Highlight the importance of employees in preventing accidental breaches and insider threats.
- Educate employees about how to spot phishing scams and other forms of social engineering attacks.
Monitor and Adapt
- Continuously monitor data movement and access patterns for anomaly detection
- Regularly review and update policies and tools to stay current with emerging threats and regulatory changes.
- Perform audits and penetration testing for DLP evaluation and improvements.
Choosing Fidelis Network® Data Loss Prevention Solution
Key Features and Benefits:
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:
- Key Features & Requirements
- Robust Architecture of DLP
- Accurate Inspection of Data
Frequently Ask Questions
What is the Difference Between PII and PHI?
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information) refers to any data that can identify a specific individual. Examples include names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, and contact details. PII is governed by regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act).
- PHI (Protected Health Information) is a subset of PII specific to healthcare and includes any data about an individual’s health status, medical records, treatments, and health insurance information. PHI is primarily governed by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in the U.S.
- Key Difference: While all PHI is PII, not all PII is PHI. PHI explicitly pertains to healthcare information, requiring stricter compliance standards.
PCI vs. PII: What’s the Difference?
- PCI (Payment Card Information) refers to sensitive financial data linked to payment cards, such as credit card numbers, expiration dates, CVVs, and transaction details. PCI is regulated by the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), ensuring secure handling of payment information to prevent fraud.
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information) includes a broader range of data that identifies an individual beyond financial details, such as names, addresses, and social security numbers.
- Key Difference: PCI is specific to payment data and financial transactions, while PII covers any identifiable personal data. Organizations handling PCI must focus on transaction security, whereas those managing PII focus on general privacy and data protection.
Who is responsible for protecting PII?
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.