Digital privacy is a must-have. Whether you share your personal and financial details at your bank or make a transaction at a retail store, digitalization has certainly made data security an important part of our lives. 

Access to critical information, such as financial records, personal details, or medical information, can draw an accurate picture of your personal and financial well-being, thus raising concerns. 

So, how do you ensure your sensitive data remains secure and accessible only with your permission? 

Well, this is where sensitive data discovery steps in. Like digital detectives, sensitive data discovery tools uncover hidden information to safeguard privacy. Let’s learn more!

What is Sensitive Data Discovery?

Sensitive data discovery involves identifying sensitive information within a business’s network. They may be found hiding in files, databases, or emails. This process involves using specialized tools and techniques to locate, categorize, and manage sensitive information, ensuring it is properly protected.

How Does Sensitive Data Discovery Work?

Sensitive data refers to important data such as your social security number, credit card information, health records, etc.

These pieces of information are frequently stored on your computer or online in documents, spreadsheets, or databases. Sensitive data discovery tools search these files and databases for patterns and formats that match sensitive data.

For example, upon use, a sensitive data discovery tool raises a red ticket to alarm that you have a document with a string of numbers that matches a credit card number. Similarly, if you have a spreadsheet containing a list of names and medical conditions, the program detects the data's potential sensitivity. 

➡️Learn more about sensitive data elements here - Strac’s catalog of sensitive data elements.

Challenges in Sensitive Data Discovery

Sensitive data discovery is tough. Some sensitive data might be hidden in unexpected locations and in various formats, making it a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, sensitive data discovery is governed and, in some geographies, banned,  which adds to another layer of complexity.

Cybersecurity and data protection experts continuously develop and update sensitive data discovery tools to address these challenges. Let’s explore the top 10 smart sensitive data discovery tools that identify different types of sensitive data. 

Top 10 Sensitive Data Discovery Tools

1. Strac

Strac is known for its seamless integration with cloud and SaaS-based platforms such as Zendesk, Slack, Gmail, Office, Salesforce, ChatGPT, Notion, Box and others. Its real-time abilities and wide coverage of all critical endpoints make it one of the prominent technologies in the data discovery space.

Key features

• Strac integrates with a wide array of popular SaaS applications such as Zendesk, Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, O365 Email, One Drive, Intercom and more, offering a comprehensive solution for cloud and endpoint data protection.

• Utilizes advanced algorithms for automatic detection and redaction of sensitive data across various communication channels, eliminating the need for manual intervention and ensuring accurate and flexible configurations.

• Supports a broad range of file formats for redaction, including PDFs, images, and Office documents, while complying with major standards like PCI, SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO-27001, CCPA, GDPR, and NIST frameworks.
• Features easy integration, allowing customers to quickly set up and start utilizing DLP/live scanning/redaction capabilities on their SaaS apps within minutes.
• Employs custom machine learning models for accurate detection and redaction of sensitive PII, PHI, PCI, and confidential data, minimizing false positives and negatives.
• Offers extensive customization options for policies, data elements, access controls, and remediation to meet specific business needs. Check out Strac’s full catalog of sensitive data elements.
• Boasts the widest and deepest number of SaaS and Cloud integrations, with additional support for API and AI integrations, including LLM APIs and AI websites, for enhanced data protection in AI applications.

• Provides built-in and customizable detectors for all sensitive data elements required by PCI, HIPAA, GDPR, etc., along with out-of-the-box compliance templates and flexible configurations for comprehensive data protection.
• Endpoint DLP: Strac is the only accurate and comprehensive DLP that works for SaaS, Cloud and Endpoint.
• Features inline redaction capabilities to mask or blur sensitive text within attachments, ensuring data privacy.

• Delivers top-notch customer support, assisting clients throughout the integration process and beyond for a hassle-free experience.

Strac DLP Reviews

Strac Sensitive Data Discovery and DLP is Rated 5/5 on G2.  Here is what clients have to say:

2. Forcepoint DLP

Forcepoint has machine learning capabilities that allow detection of sensitive data and implement features for policy enforcement through its cloud data loss prevention software solution.

Some of the notable capabilities of Forcepoint are as follows:

• Single-vendor SASE that unifies SD-WAN and SSE.
• Distributed enforcement.
• Risk-adaptive protection
• Cloud-native hyper-scaler built for continuous availability.

Nightfall

Nightfall leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify critical business data for sensitive information discovery. For instance, its AI-powered cloud native ecosystem makes its customers’ lives easier to discover, classify,  and protect sensitive data in any environment. One can integrate the platform with tools like GitHub and Slack. 

Reviews

The software enjoys an average of 4.6 on G2.  Here is what clients have to say:

4. Digital Guardian 

Digital Guardian is a platform that focuses on locating and protecting sensitive data, whether structured or not. A few key features of the platform are:

• Digital Guardian offers data classification solutions.
• The cloud service eliminates the complexities of stand-alone machines. 
• Analytics and reporting capabilities. 

Reviews

Digital Guardian scores an average of 4.5 on G2. 

5. McAfee

McAfee is a data loss prevention software that protects sensitive data—info that might be present at any endpoint—and assures compliance to protect intellectual property. Low-maintenance equipment (physical or virtual) and the McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) platform are used to deliver the McAfee DLP for faster deployment, management, upgrades, and reports. 

Some of the features of McAfee are:

• Visibility on how data usage and leakage.  
• Scan feature 
• Location and application tagging. 

Review‍

The product scores an average of 4.5 on G2. 

6. Check Point Data Loss Protection

Check Point Data Loss Prevention (DLP) prevents the unintended loss of sensitive data. The solution is compatible with Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW) from Check Point and is known for its features like: 

• 360^O visibility and reporting
• Custom DLP capabilities
• Offers real-time monitoring.

Reviews

The product scores an average of 4.6 on G2. 

7. Trend Micro Integrated Data Loss Prevention

Trend Micro's Integrated DLP program combines DLP with its online security software solution. The company offers protection with centralized management, cloud application access control, visibility, and customizable deployment choices. Trend Micro Integrated Data Loss Prevention doesn’t have major differentiators. However, here are a few of them.

• Mobile security
• Endpoint encryption
• Sandbox as a service
• Web Gateway Security
• Email and collaboration security
• Managed detection and prevention

Reviews

Trend Micro scores an average of 4 on G2. Here is a screenshot of the latest reviews about the product. 

8. GTB Technologies

GTB Technologies offers detection capabilities using proprietary detection algorithms. Available in all the major operating systems, their DLP security engine detects structured and unstructured data at the binary level. 

Some of the features to be considered here are:

• Endpoint protection with OPSWAT-certified OFF-Premise, real-time fingerprint detection that no other solution can control. 
• Data discovery, eDiscovery, and Data Classification are all automatic, real-time - with OCR detection. 

Reviews‍

Not available. 

9. Spirion

Spirion is a software solution marketplace segmented based on deployment type, solution type, end-user industry, and geography. The company follows a simple workflow - data classification, monitoring and controlling, identifying violations of policies, enforcing remediation, and creating reports. Spirion offers sensitive data discovery and classification specifically designed to locate and secure PII and PHI.

Here are a few features of Spirion:

• Searches for all sensitive and confidential information across the IT infrastructure. 
• Performs data classification
• Remediates data
• Provides an intuitive central console

Reviews

‍Spirion scores an average of 4.5 on G2. 

10. Cisco Email Security with Data Loss Prevention

Cisco offers a combination of AI, machine learning, and data-tracking technologies to assist firms in managing compliance standards. It enables sensitive data discovery through the Content Intelligence Engine. 

Some of the capabilities of Cisco are:

• Phishing email detection
• Threat level scoring
• Security and protection features for internal and cloud-based emails.

Reviews

G2 rates Cisco 4.3 out of 5.

Wrapping Up

While there are several sensitive data discovery tools in the market, our list of the top 10 tools can ease your decision-making. 

Strac is the ideal sensitive data discovery tool you’re looking for, as it ensures 100% compliance and protection of sensitive data. 

Want to learn more about Strac?

➡️Here’s Strac’s redaction API that enables sensitive data protection.

➡️Know why you must redact your sensitive data with Strac’s tokenization function.

Read our other resources:

• Sensitive data classification
• Email data security: Threats, solutions and DLP
• How to secure sensitive data in ChatGPT?