In today’s cybersecurity market, we are seeing more vendors than before offering solutions which claim to cover all your security needs under one roof. Sure, from a business efficiency point of view this may seem like a very tempting offer – but in reality, is it all too good to be true?
We already know that data classification is the crucial foundation to a solid data security solution, so the question is, why would you want to build these foundations using a solution that simply isn’t going to be able to truly fulfil your needs into the future? With regulatory compliance requirements only growing globally, your organization needs to rely on specialist solutions in this key area that can grow alongside these requirements and save you from making a costly mistake.
So why do you need to choose a specialist data classification provider? Here are four reasons.
1. You need a labeling policy that reflects the way the data is used around the business
Your data classification policy must reflect the way data is used within the organization, as opposed to having to sacrifice business requirements for classification to fit into a generic, non-flexible, classification schema set by the solution. Users must have the ability to set unambiguous labels in order to understand how to handle data within the business.
Your policy needs to be able to support both sophisticated visual and metadata labels. Sophisticated visual labels give greater context to the data, which in turn allow for more accurate and secure handling of your data. Using a blanket label of “Confidential” may work in some instances, but using a more granular label of “Confidential – Board – PII” allows for quicker identification of sensitive information, as well as what should be done with it.
The greater the granularity provided by your classification, the more your policy can be enforced, as well as far more accurate downstream support for other data security tools such as DLP, secure collaboration, and encryption.
2. You need sophisticated and flexible metadata
As we mentioned above, when looking for more accurate support and to value add to downstream security solutions, you also need to be using sophisticated metadata.
Non-specialist provider solutions will offer basic metadata functionality, however, by using sophisticated, flexible, and customizable metadata, you can set metadata to trigger functions such as email encryption applied to data leaving the business based upon classification levels specified within the metadata. Another example is to use information set within flexible metadata to block certain types of data being uploaded to the cloud via CASB solutions, ensuring sensitive data isn’t leaving your organization when it shouldn’t be.
Another downfall we see with non-flexible metadata are the issues that arise when working with the supply chain, who may be using different classification methods, meaning the classification may be lost during exchanges of data or information. By using flexible metadata, you can ensure consistent labeling when data is being shared back and forth between parties.
Regulatory requirements are increasingly asking for the archival of sensitive data after a set time period, for example, the archiving of financial data once it has been held for 6+ years within the business. Flexible metadata allows you to set retention and archiving values within the data so that you can remain compliant with these requirements.
3. A single vendor approach can hinder your data security efforts
As we touched upon before, you might think surely it’s much easier just to pick one provider and get all the security tools I need under one roof? It might seem that way initially, but typically that only gets you so far. As an organization, you most likely have a variety of security solutions already integrated and well established within the business. Using a best-of-breed solution provider approach means you can choose the best security solutions your organization needs that will provide the best protection to your organization, users, and processes. When it comes to your organization’s security you cannot afford to compromise.
One group of people who would be very happy to see your organization choose a single vendor for all your security are hackers. If a hacker knows just some of the compromises that single vendor has, this is just the key they need to access a whole world of data within the organization, and the consequences could be disastrous.
Our advice really is to avoid adopting lower end data security solutions. While they may seem tempting, the security offerings usually come as part of a wider platform, and are not built with the flexibility and functionality that a best-of-breed provider can offer. You’re also at risk of what can be described as “vendor lock in”, where you are at the mercy of one provider controlling every element of your data security, even down to non-negotiable annual price increases for software.
4. Are you going to get the product support you need?
While most data classification solutions will generally support the likes of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint within the Microsoft Office product set, it’s likely that a lot of your IP may be located in other programs such as Visio and Project, on Mac or Google Workspace, and within CAD solutions to name a few.
Classification within an organization needs to go beyond the borders of the basics of MS Office, and be able to classify all file types, while also understanding the classification values within alternative file stores in the business.
The data security landscape today requires organizations to be compliant with far more regulations than ever before, and this is only increasing. Data classification provides the key to better control of sensitive data, and in turn, better cybersecurity within your business. Therefore, you need to be consulting with expert solution providers to make sure you get it right first time.
If you want to learn more about why you need to be relying on best-of-breed experts to provide your data classification solution, why not watch our webcast “Data Classification Take 30: Why You Need A Specialist Provider”.
