Protecting data is an extremely challenging task. Every day, organizations generate new data—much of which is valuable to cybercriminals. As a result, numerous data management policies are implemented to prevent data leakage and protect sensitive information. However, with millions of documents being created, data leakage can still occur—often due to weak cybersecurity policies, evolving cyber threats, or malicious insiders.
Implementing data classification can significantly improve an organization’s cybersecurity posture by enabling it to:
- Classify sensitive and confidential data
- Define access permissions
- Apply labels to datasets based on sensitivity levels
- Meet compliance requirements
- Strengthen enterprise data governance
Risk Management
Conducting regular risk management is fundamental to a successful cybersecurity program. It involves identifying, analyzing, and mitigating security risks. Data risk management is at the heart of information security policies and is greatly enhanced by effective data classification.
Once data is categorized based on its sensitivity—e.g., confidential, restricted, internal, or public—specific cyber risks can be assessed and mitigated. This ensures stronger protection for business-critical files. Regardless of the classification method used, the goal remains the same: to identify which data is public, which is internal, and which must be safeguarded at all costs.
By focusing risk management efforts on highly sensitive data, organizations can optimize their resources and bolster their security frameworks.
Enhancing Cybersecurity Tools (DLP)
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools are essential in modern cybersecurity. These technologies analyze content and context across emails, networks, endpoints, and cloud storage to prevent unauthorized data transfers.
DLP tools are more effective when data is already classified by sensitivity. Classification enables DLP solutions to apply appropriate rules, ensuring that the most critical information receives the highest level of protection.
While some DLP tools attempt to classify data automatically, they may rely on simplistic patterns or keywords—leading to inaccurate results. Proper classification, powered by advanced AI solutions, ensures that DLP policies are targeted, reliable, and aligned with business needs.
Data Management Policies
Data management policies are designed to ensure the integrity, usability, and availability of organizational information. Data classification plays a critical role in shaping and enforcing these policies.
For example, classification helps organizations track and protect regulated data in accordance with frameworks like ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA. It also fosters a culture of cybersecurity. Employees who work with classified data are more likely to follow established protocols, reducing risks associated with human error.
Moreover, classification helps identify operational areas where data is more exposed to risk. This insight allows organizations to allocate cybersecurity resources more efficiently and provide targeted training to vulnerable departments.
Backups and Obsolescence of Information
Regular data backups are essential to any robust cybersecurity strategy. Data classification strengthens backup policies by identifying which datasets require additional protections—such as encryption or access controls.
Classification also helps identify outdated backups that can be safely deleted, freeing up storage and reducing infrastructure costs. Additionally, structured classification enables quicker recovery of compromised data, as it is easier to locate specific files within categorized repositories.
Furthermore, classification informs decisions about storage environments—determining whether sensitive backups should reside on secure servers or less restrictive cloud solutions.
How Kriptos Can Help
Manual data classification is a time-consuming and costly endeavor. For example, an organization with 5,000–10,000 employees may have over 10 million files—manually classifying them could take decades.
Kriptos offers an automated data classification solution powered by Artificial Intelligence. It can understand both the content and context of each file, enabling the classification of millions of documents in a matter of days.
With Kriptos, your organization can:
- Automate data classification accurately
- Reduce risks related to data leakage
- Streamline compliance and security policies
- Empower your cybersecurity and IT teams to focus on strategic priorities
Request a free “Data Classification Assessment” here to discover the risks your company is exposed to.
