Using Enterprise Search for PII Discovery and GDPR Compliance

By now, we have all likely encountered the term GDPR. GDPR stands for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR is in full effect, and there are several requirements for being “GDPR compliant.”

Exploring the concept of PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is quite important and goes hand in hand with GDPR compliance.

PII is any data that could potentially identify an individual. TechTarget shares, “Any information that can be used to distinguish one person from another and can be used to deanonymize previously anonymous data is considered PII.”

PII could be a piece of data alone or in tandem with other data.

PII typically includes names, addresses, driver’s licenses, passport information, phone numbers, birthdays, license plates, emails, and bank accounts.

PII presents a handful of potential problems for large enterprises. While PII can benefit businesses, telling companies who their customers are and providing opportunities to tailor services to them – the many business advantages also come with significant risks. The more PII collected, the trickier it becomes to stay compliant.

Staying Compliant with Mindbreeze InSpire

With tons of data being collected by companies, it is essential to implement solutions that control data and seek out specific data from silos – including PII data.

GDPR tells you that if a person requests their data to be deleted, the company has an obligation to do so. Enterprises may also have to provide proof that such data has been deleted. But how can a company delete data if it cannot be located? An insight engine comes into the equation right here!

Companies tend only to delete information in their “master data” but not all other data. This practice does not follow GDPR guidelines and does not check all the boxes of staying compliant with data regulations.

Mindbreeze InSpire allows companies to discover data no matter where it lies within their systems. So, when customers request their own data to be deleted, companies can quickly locate it and follow through on the request. Finding where PII is stored is also essential for protection against a data breach.

Whether PII is in an email, embedded in a PDF file, or audio from a phone call, Mindbreeze InSpire can find where it is hiding among the vast amounts of other data within an organization.

Mindbreeze InSpire ensures that all personal data subject to GDPR is classifiable and visible. Companies can trust they are staying compliant and handling consumer data requests properly with Mindbreeze InSpire by their side.

Using the most diverse techniques in artificial intelligence, Mindbreeze can identify new and existing PII across all data sources, streamlining and automating the entire PII response process. With so much data in existence and system silos, manually achieving this level of compliance is not efficient and nearly impossible. Automation tools are quickly becoming a must-have for organizations to remain GDPR compliant.

Eager to learn more about using enterprise search for PII discovery and GDPR Compliance? Contact our experts today, and we will be sure you are taken care of!