Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world and list ways to explore these trends. This week, we’ll explore a few ways to identify dark data and mitigate the risks it poses.
Dark data is a threat to organizations. Despite efforts to prevent it, dark data inevitably makes its way into systems and is often left unaddressed.
More than half (53%) of C-level executives and IT professionals view dark data as a critical issue, posing potential risks and introducing vulnerabilities and legal challenges due to data breaches. When data is unclassified, unmonitored, and left unused without a known source or purpose, it increases the risk of insider threats and unauthorized external leaks.
Let’s examine how organizations manage, secure, and work to eliminate dark data from their systems.
Classify everything
One of the main reasons dark data exists is that incoming data is not properly streamlined and is often left unclassified. Nearly half of companies (48%) believe they lack the necessary technology to effectively manage and safeguard their dark data.
Organizations must use software tools to monitor incoming data, mark its source, and tag its purpose to prevent it from becoming unstructured and abandoned. Relying on traditional classification and management methods leaves room for error, ultimately leading to an accumulation of dark data.
Strong data retention policies
When it comes to data management, drafting robust policies goes a long way. Figure out how long data needs to be retained and establish policies for its disposal. Define the data life cycle requirements of your company and create policies accordingly, ensuring compliance with privacy laws like the GDPR and HIPAA.
When data becomes obsolete, implement a structured deletion process to remove redundant data and prevent it from turning into dark data.
Use AI-driven tools to monitor data
As the world rapidly adopts AI, it’s time to leverage its capabilities to manage, secure, and eliminate dark data.
Relying on traditional tools and outdated methods to monitor and manage dark data is ineffective. This is one of the primary reasons data remains hidden in emails, logs, databases, and old backups. AI-driven tools provide more efficient data management, reducing the chances of dark data accumulation.
A final word
Dark data is a challenge for every organization, yet many fail to address it adequately. However, finding ways to manage or eliminate dark data is crucial to keeping it out of hackers’ hands. This blog only scratches the surface of dark data, but I hope it encourages you to consider where your organization’s dark data resides, how it’s currently managed, and how it can be handled more effectively.
