What is Context-Aware Security?
Digital Guardian Offers the Only Comprehensive Context Aware Security with Seamless, Streamlined Data Discovery and Classification
In 2012, Gartner predicted the rise of context aware security as the emerging solution for enterprises to adapt to changes in the security landscape such as IT consumerization, cloud computing, and the ever-evolving threat landscape. Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald describes context aware security as “the use of supplemental information to improve security decisions at the time they are made, resulting in more accurate security decisions capable of supporting dynamic business and IT environments.”
Context Aware Security Emerges as an Essential Security Measure for Dynamic Enterprises
Context aware security has become a must-have for enterprises requiring data leakage protection (DLP) capable of meeting the demands of the fast-paced, multi-device, and increasingly mobile world of business. Adaptive security infrastructure has become the new standard, replacing static infrastructure components such as firewalls and anti-virus software, which are simply inadequate and unprepared to protect highly sensitive data in today’s environment.
As data moves from location to location is stored on an endless number of devices and in cloud storage applications. It’s accessed by employees, partners, and customers via connections and devices from just about everywhere. An equally dynamic security solution is required for monitoring these events - which isn't something alternative security solutions can offer.
Contextual Information Drives Rapid Security Response
Context information commonly includes environmental factors, such as location and time, but there are many other contextual aspects that exist throughout the IT stack. This information includes devices, users, IP addresses, URLs, and even considerations affecting the business value of the data, the potential threat, and the credibility of the application(s) in use.
Context aware security relies on these contextual factors to drive rapid response at the moment of decision-making. Much of this information is easily understood by the end user (such as time and location), but not always understood by applications providing data based on queries and triggers. Understanding these contextual factors enables context aware security solutions to rapidly determine the type and level of security actions appropriate for every event.
Data Discovery and Classification Lay the Groundwork for Context Aware Security
Context aware security requires awareness of applications, users and identities, networks, data classifications, and event types. The process of identifying every possible type of enterprise data, privileged and unauthorized user identities, applications, networks, and events is a critical first step in implementing context aware security measures.
For many enterprises, data discovery and classification is essential not only for risk management, but for regulatory compliance. Understanding precisely what data an enterprise owns or controls, where it is stored, who has access (or requires access) to it, as well as where it will be accessed and how it will be transmitted, is essential for the process. But for most enterprises, the exponential growth of data makes this task seem daunting.
The solution is advanced, intelligent technology that is capable of learning and applying pre-defined classifications, scenarios, and policies to the vast quantities of data used and controlled by the typical enterprise. With employees connecting remotely through a multitude of devices and data being stored in the cloud and existing on any number of servers or endpoints at any moment in time, this process requires technology of the utmost sophistication. Additionally, the process must be continuous and comprehensive; a single-yet-complete scan is inadequate for discovering and classifying the ever-growing volume of data that is in constant motion for the modern enterprise.
Digital Guardian is the only comprehensive, context aware security solution with continuous monitoring and automatic classification that encompasses the full range of requirements for enterprises in today’s challenging and complex security landscape.
Painless Data Discovery and Classification for Context Aware Security
Digital Guardian’s advanced technology streamlines the process of identifying and classifying data and its context. The data discovery and classification process is essential for risk management and regulatory compliance, and with Digital Guardian’s automatic classification and tagging technology, the path to compliance and comprehensive data protection is shortened and simplified.
The Digital Guardian platform offers complete visibility and continuous monitoring, never missing a beat to instantly identify, classify, tag, and track sensitive data. Sensitive data is automatically encrypted prior to egress, and files and content containing proprietary or sensitive information are identified – and met with a pre-defined response action such as an alert or block – before the data exits your secure environment. The real-time delivery of forensic event logs drives creation of more targeted policies and improves the efficacy of alerting and reporting.
That means your employees continue to communicate and collaborate with co-workers, vendors, contractors, and other entities as usual, but with a greater level of protection. When it comes to securing the data stored and transmitted through endpoints, networks, web applications, and cloud storage applications, Digital Guardian is the only context aware security solution offering continuous monitoring with complete visibility and protection without disrupting your critical business processes.