Discover and Classify Your Data.

Your Challenges

You must identify, classify, and protect high-risk data to meet regulatory obligations.

You have a large backlog of data and aren't sure where to start with your classification project.

Your data classification scheme is haphazard or outdated, and you don't follow it regularly.

You have a significant backlog of data and are unsure where to begin your classification job.

You're on a tight budget. To save money on storage, you need to know where the most protection against data breaches is required.

I'm not sure where to begin when it comes to data quality.

How Incept Can Help

Team Incept takes a pragmatic approach to the practice of organizing data into meaningful categories, also known as data classification. By allowing the assignment of access permissions and the deployment of protection mechanisms for distinct types of data, classification aids in the improvement of information security and privacy. Moreover, how can you govern data you don't know you have?

Together, we will identify what data is at high risk of being leaked or stolen and prioritize risk mitigation initiatives to prevent data breaches. In addition, we will explore and decide how to scale investment in data loss prevention tools and put in place consistent processes for discovering and classifying sensitive or critical data on an ongoing basis.

  • Formalize the data classification program with the proper policies, handling standards, and a structured steering committee to ensure accountability and consistency.

  • Understand where your data lives and what controls are implemented to protect it. Make sure the protection is proportional to the sensitivity and criticality of the assets.

  • Understand what tools are available to implement an efficient data classification program – whether provided by a third party or done in-house. Know how and when to revisit classifications to keep them up to date.

Deliverables

  • A Data Classification Steering Committee Charter is a valuable tool for ensuring stakeholders are accountable for desired data classification investment decisions. A charter is an essential document for defining the scope and purpose of the committee. Without a charter to control and set clear objectives for this committee, the IT department could find the rest of the enterprise treating all information the same, often wasting resources protecting less sensitive data or insufficiently protecting sensitive data, subjecting the business to breaches.

  • A data classification policy is fundamental for an organization to formalize the high-level roles and expectations regarding classification of all data. By enforcing this policy, the organization is laying the foundation for effective measures to ensure data is labeled and protected for the safety of the corporation, its employees, contractors, third parties, and customers.

  • A data classification standard is crucial for an organization to formalize the classification, protection, and handling expectations/requirements of data within the organization. Without formal standards in place, data may be mishandled, leaked, and/or lost, causing significant damage to the organization.

  • This tool will help you allocate ownership and responsibility for implementing an existing or new data classification program. Each task has specific individuals allocate their time and effort to it; they are listed as responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed.

  • We use this worksheet as a master copy of data handling requirements. This content can be copied into user-facing documents, such as the Data Classification Standard. We consider how each classification of data will be handled from its initial creation, through storage, usage, transmission, archiving, and destruction.

  • This tool will provide allows us to engage with department data experts so that efficient data discovery can take place. It is equipped with 30+ questions to guide the interview under the categories of accountability and data value, governance, storage, access, transmission, archival and retention, disposal, security measures, and classification.

  • This worksheet lets us define the classification scheme, track and consolidate the classification of corporate assets, and gain visibility into the location and security of the organization's most sensitive data.

  • We use this worksheet to allow you to build your own data classification metrics program, guiding you towards creating a plan on what metrics to track, how to report your metrics, the frequency of reporting, and the personnel responsible for tracking.

  • Copy for a pamphlet, internal portal, or email communication about “Discover ing Your Role in Data Classification”. This allows us to explain why we are reaching out to them and what to expect.

Clarity is important. Having a firm grasp on what’s expected when you engage us, including objectives and deadlines, is crucial to your success. We like to make things clear so you know what you’re getting.

Contact us.

Avoid the pitfalls of spending too much time on Data Discovery and leverage the learning from the many client experiences we benefit from. Team Incept’s experience will help you to make it right the first time.