Unstructured data risk: your guide to asking the right questions

"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know."

Former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said it once, but you may have heard the quote dozens of times, especially if you work in cybersecurity or risk. 

Those known unknowns are hard work, difficult but not impossible. Those unknown unknowns are what will keep you up at night. 

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Visibility unlocks everything else

This is why visibility is so highly prized, and so heavily enforced, by security and compliance teams. The more they know, the fewer unknown unknowns they’ll face. 

This is also another reason AI makes security experts nervous, particularly its overwhelmingly black-box nature. No matter how well they protect their own assets and infrastructure, AI systems always bring new unknown unknowns. This is especially true for the risks and rewards waiting in your unstructured data.

Why is that black box so scary? Because AI runs on data, the more valuable the better. And since valuable data is frequently also sensitive data, the information AI needs most is also the information most in need of protection. This is doubly true inside those black box systems.

And if 80% of all the data you hold is unstructured, this adds even more complexity to the mix:

• Unstructured data hides everywhere, from on-prem servers and cloud storage to shadow-IT apps, making discovery a headache and leaving you stressed when auditors or hackers come knocking.

  
  

• Files run the gamut including PDFs, slideshows, images, audio and video, all needing different scanners and parsing tricks. Without the right tools, misclassification and pure chaos are inevitable.

  
  

• Your docs often contain real value: contracts, financials, personal data, all of which hackers love and regulators rigorously scrutinize. Underestimating their worth can cost you millions or even much worse.

Your data has the answers, if you know the right questions

If you’re looking to leverage your unstructured data, there are lots of solutions out there that do part of the job. As important as any specific tool are the critical questions you must answer about your unstructured data.

That’s why we put together this guide, “Making sense of your sensitive unstructured data risk: 5 questions to ask and answer.“

Risk or reward, obstacle or opportunity—you can’t protect (or use) what you can’t see. The guide helps you focus on what’s critical:

• Where is your sensitive unstructured data?

• What kinds of files, formats, and systems are storing and managing it?

• What are the potential costs of doing nothing about data security?

The right answers always come from the right questions. They also help shape your data protection strategies to make sure you stay secure, no matter what unknown comes next.

Download your guide today, and start making sense of your unstructured data risk.