Elastio Data Classification: Sensitive Data Findings
If an attacker reached one of your protected assets today, could you state what regulated data sat on it? Per asset, per file, with evidence?
Most security teams cannot answer that question. Not because they lack tools, but because the tools watch the wrong places. Regulated data drifts into export directories, archives, file shares, and the data the platform protects. No control in the security stack inspects those locations for content. That is where exposure accumulates, and that is where attackers go.
What shipped
Elastio now ships Data Classification as a hunt type in the platform. The Data Classification hunt inspects assets in policy scope and raises a Threat finding when selected data types are found out of place. The finding lands in the same queue as ransomware, malware, and encryption findings, with severity, status, and ownership.
The team selects, per policy, which classes are treated as out of place on which assets:
| Class | Detects |
|---|---|
| PII | National identifiers, SSN, TIN, dates of birth, passport numbers, driver’s licenses |
| PCI | PAN, CVV, track data, cardholder names |
| PHI / HIPAA | MRN, ICD and CPT codes, diagnosis notes, NPI |
| GDPR | EU resident PII, behavioral profiles, IP addresses |
| Secrets and credentials | API keys, OAuth tokens, private certificates, cloud credentials, .env files |
Each finding carries file-level evidence: the affected files with paths, sizes, timestamps, and the specific match signals per file. The evidence is exportable as a sensitive files report, ready for the data owner, the auditor, or the regulator.
Suppressing a classification finding requires an explicit reviewed acknowledgment. Every disposition is recorded. No silent dismissals.
Why this is a security control, not an inventory
Data discovery tools produce inventories. Inventories get filed. Elastio treats out-of-place sensitive data as a threat, because operationally it is one.
- Credentials in protected data API keys, tokens, and certificates sitting in archives are re-entry material for an attacker. They deserve the same triage urgency as malware.
- Cardholder data in an exports directory An exfiltration target waiting to be found, and a compliance finding waiting to be written.
- Health records outside their system of record Exposure no one signed off on, now visible with file-level evidence instead of discovered during an incident.
Where it fits in Active Cyber Resilience
Detection answers whether the data is clean. Classification answers what is inside it. Together they change what you can say after an incident.
When a recovery point is compromised, the platform can state what regulated data sat inside it. The incident becomes a quantified exposure statement instead of an open question in front of the board, the regulator, and the insurer.
Classification runs inside the Hunt pipeline that already inspects your data estate. One policy setting. No new tool to deploy, integrate, or defend.
What to do
- Enable the Data Classification hunt on the policies covering your highest-exposure assets.
- Select the data classes that do not belong on those assets.
- Route the first round of findings to the data owners and set the suppression discipline early.
The configuration takes minutes. The answer it gives you is the one you have not had.
Assess Your Recovery Posture
Find out what sensitive data sits in your protected estate and whether your recovery is provable.
Can you prove your recovery points are clean?
Your board will ask if you can recover clean. This checklist lets you answer with evidence.
