Leverage Metadata for Content Security

Data breaches are constantly in the news. With the increasing volume of stolen data stolen containing highly sensitive information – such as trade secrets, employee and client data, financial information and more – organizations across the globe understand the urgency of addressing these threats.

While there are numerous steps organizations can and should take to shore up their information security, intelligent use of metadata is one many might overlook. However, it could prove extremely useful.

Create Dynamic Permissions

Most organizations understand the necessity and importance of classifying information and defining access control policies. Access control lists are a straightforward way to manage folder access. However, this is quite inflexible and restrictive – as rests on the premise that all information assets reside in one location.

Modern enterprise content management systems offer metadata-driven dynamic permission settings which allow organizations to enforce access controls via combinations of document attributes – such as customer and document type. A single document could therefore be accessible to members of a project team, a group of developers, all management or any combination thereof. Permissions could also change based on the workflow state of the document.

Better Audit Activity Insights

Audits happen all the time across organizations. From an information security point of view, leveraging metadata can help organizations better track changes made to documents or objects. Comprehensive event logs track the creation, modification or deletion of information. And, using these logs, organizations can easily determine who performed an operation that resulted in non-conformance – and remedy the issue.

Small Details, Big Impact

Organizations are understandably thinking about sweeping changes to protect their data from the costs of a potential breach. But it may be the bits of information contained within the information they’re trying to protect that might offer the peace of mind they’re looking for. Large controls like firewalls, data protection policies and procedures are as important as ever – but small as it may be, metadata packs a big punch.

Tomorrow’s technology is shaping business today. To learn more about how MNP can help leverage metadata to protect your organization from a potential data breach, contact John Desborough, Director Consulting and Technology Solutions at [email protected].