Fortra's Data Classification and Digital Guardian's Secure Collaboration Integration

Data classification is an integral part of the Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) process—so much so that data classification is really considered the foundation of any data security solution, both within the corporate firewall and in the cloud. You can’t protect your data when you don’t know enough about the contents of files to handle them properly. Once a user has created a file or an email, a classification solution scans the file to accurately identify the sensitivity of the data and apply visual labels and metadata that can be read by the entire security ecosystem. Then a policy engine determines what actions to take. The classification process can be guided (asking the user to confirm the recommended classification level), automated (applying the classification level automatically, without user input), or simply done manually. 

Not only does data classification provide organizations with the ability to make more intelligent and conscious decisions about how data is used and handled, but in an age of growing regulatory compliance requirements, it is a critical tool in demonstrating compliance and remaining compliant.

Secure collaboration solutions enable organizations of all sizes to protect their sensitive data by encrypting the file and then providing the ability to track, audit, and manage the policies securing the data anywhere it goes. So confidential data stays protected, no matter what device, person, cloud, or application it travels to. 

Most importantly, a secure collaboration solution will ensure that your sensitive data is protected even when it travels outside of your organization. This is a must for industries or job functions (such as finance or legal) that frequently require external collaboration with information that would be most detrimental to the organization if a breach were to occur. Should our data fall into the wrong hands either accidentally or maliciously, secure collaboration will allow you to revoke access to the file in real-time. 

In today’s hyper-competitive business climate, the ability to maintain control of your data, manage who can access and modify your sensitive files, and track your intellectual property is critical. Fortra's solution provides the peace of mind that your security policies will stick with your most important data.

An organization might have a policy that mandates that any files determined by Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration to be classified or sensitive must be secured by Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration before they can be shared over email or via cloud. 

In this scenario, once DCS tags a file with a “Restricted” classification, it then leverages secure collaboration to encrypt the file. Fortra encrypts the file, adding the access controls and any other specific policies that are tied to that “Restricted” classification. DCS also embeds unencrypted classification metadata in the header of the secured file, resulting in a protected file with machine readable classification information. 

The file is now encrypted, but other security products such as a data loss protection software (DLP) or a cloud access security broker (CASB) are still able to read the metadata that contains the classification value.

Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration and DCS together employ a powerful combination of best-of-breed classification and file-level security. This helps organizations to better understand and categorize the data they have, as well as secure that data wherever it travels. Both technologies also complement other security solutions used to protect data at rest and the flow of data, such as CASB and DLP. And since both solutions are a part of the Fortra Data Security Suite, you gain the advantage of working with a single vendor for all your data-centric security needs. All of this serves to dramatically improve an organization’s overall security posture to protect against data breaches and having sensitive data fall into the wrong hands.

DCS data classification enables organizations to truly understand what kind of data they possess, the value of that data, and how best to classify files in order to mitigate exposure to risk. With DCS, you can clearly and accurately classify emails, spreadsheets, presentations, and other file types using user selected, system-suggested, or automatically applied classification settings that are based on your unique data security policies. It is designed to empower employees to work confidently and productively, with the knowledge that their emails, documents, and sensitive information are all protected.

Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration is a data and content security solution that enhances an organization’s ability to protect, govern and manage the transmission of information without impacting employees, or the existing security choices the organization has made. Files secured can still be protected by gateways, firewalls, and endpoint technologies, but customers choosing secure collaboration can now extend these controls beyond the boundaries of their business. 

With a centralized cloud architecture that is content and storage agnostic, policy-driven, and designed to adapt to modern work practices, Fortra allows customers to provide consistent, auditable protection across all of their critical content. Digital Guardian Secure Collaboration enables organizations of all sizes, in any industry to maintain existing investments in storage, collaboration, and communication while improving their security profiles.