This process supports data classification, risk assessment, and the application of security controls throughout the data lifecycle. It ensures regulatory compliance while strengthening the organization's ability to manage data flows, respond to security incidents, and address data breaches.
Data flows are documented and monitored to maintain data security and privacy. This includes identifying where data moves, which systems process and store it, and who has access. To ensure accountability, a designated data owner must be assigned to each dataset. Data owners are responsible for classifying data, enforcing security measures, and ensuring compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements.
Implementation Suggestions:
Update the data inventory at least quarterly, or whenever major changes occur in data storage, classification, or flows.
Assign a data owner to each sensitive or regulated dataset to oversee security, classification, and compliance.
Leverage automated tools to continuously map data across systems, reducing manual effort and improving visibility.
Document data flows to track how data moves across the organization, ensuring security and privacy at each touchpoint.
Integrate data mapping into incident response and breach reporting to quickly identify affected data in case of security events.
Ensure regulatory compliance by maintaining detailed records of data storage, access, and processing activities, including data transfers.
Data protection and loss prevention measures ensure privacy, regulatory compliance, and business reputation preservation while mitigating risks from data breaches and cyberattacks. These measures protect data throughout its lifecycle and prevent unintentional or malicious exposure.
Implementation Suggestions:
Preventative Measures: Access Controls & Encryption
Restrict access to sensitive data based on user roles and responsibilities.
Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit to prevent unauthorized access or interception.
Detection & Enforcement: Monitoring & DLP Tools
Continuously monitor data activity to detect suspicious behaviour or policy violations.
Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools to enforce security policies and alert administrators to potential risks.
Mitigation & Governance: Incident Response & Policy Development
Ensure data protection policies cover secure storage, transfer, and disposal of sensitive data.
Align data protection controls with incident response plans to enable fast mitigation of security breaches.
Sustained Security: Training, Awareness & Continuous Improvement
Develop and distribute training materials to ensure employees understand data protection responsibilities.
Regularly review and update data security measures to address evolving threats and regulatory changes.
Foster a culture of security awareness, ensuring employees recognize and report potential risks.
Retention and disposal procedures are defined and maintained to ensure that information is stored and disposed of in line with legal, regulatory, and business requirements. These procedures specify how long different types of data should be retained and include secure methods for disposal to prevent unauthorized access or recovery.
Carbide’s Data Inventory feature can be used to identify and classify data types, track where data is stored, and support the development of appropriate retention schedules. Using this feature helps ensure that retention decisions are based on accurate, up-to-date information.
Retention and disposal practices are reviewed regularly and updated as laws, regulations, and business needs evolve. This reduces the risk of keeping unnecessary data and supports compliance with privacy and security obligations.
Implementation Suggestions:
Use the Carbide Data Inventory:
Use the Data Inventory feature to map and classify data assets. This helps identify data subject to specific retention requirements and ensures that data lifecycle decisions are based on a complete understanding of what is stored and where.
Set Retention Schedules:
Define clear retention timelines for different data categories (e.g., employee records, customer data, contracts), based on legal requirements and business relevance.
Apply Secure Disposal Methods:
Use secure deletion techniques, such as data wiping, degaussing, shredding, or certified destruction services, depending on the format and sensitivity of the data.
Automate Where Possible:
Implement tools that alert teams when data reaches the end of its retention period. Automation can support compliance but should be complemented by human oversight.
Review Regularly:
Periodically update retention and disposal procedures to reflect regulatory changes or evolving risk landscapes.
Keep Records of Disposal:
Document data destruction activities, such as maintaining logs or certificates of destruction, to demonstrate compliance.
Train Team Members:
Provide training on how to follow retention schedules and dispose of data securely. Ensure employees know how to access and use the Data Inventory to inform their actions.
These practices ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of both encrypted data and the keys used to protect it throughout their lifecycles.
By employing strong encryption and robust key management procedures, organizations enhance their overall data protection strategy, ensure compliance with regulatory standards, and mitigate risks related to data breaches and cyberattacks.
Implementation Suggestions:
Use Robust Encryption:
Implement industry-standard encryption algorithms, such as AES-256 for data at rest and secure protocols like TLS for data in transit.
Apply end-to-end encryption to maintain protection across all systems and transmission points.
Secure Key Generation:
Use strong, industry-standard algorithms to generate encryption keys that are resistant to compromise.
Safe Key Storage:
Store keys in secure environments, such as hardware security modules (HSMs) or key management systems (KMS), which provide tamper-resistant storage and controlled access.
Access Control for Keys:
Enforce strict access controls to limit key access to authorized personnel. Use role-based access mechanisms and continuously monitor access activity.
Automated Key Rotation:
Regularly rotate encryption keys using automated processes to minimize the risk of compromise and maintain long-term data security.
Secure Key Distribution:
Use secure channels, such as encrypted communication or hardware transfer methods, to distribute keys, ensuring they are not intercepted or accessed during transmission.
Revocation and Replacement:
Develop clear procedures for promptly revoking and replacing compromised keys or keys that are no longer required.
Integration with Backup and Recovery:
Ensure data backups and disaster recovery plans include encryption to protect both archived and live data.
Continuous Review and Improvement:
Regularly audit encryption and key management practices to align with evolving threats, industry standards, and regulatory requirements. Update processes as necessary.
Alignment with Broader Security Measures:
Integrate encryption and key management with other security frameworks, such as access control policies, incident response plans, and encryption standards, to create a cohesive data protection strategy.