NAS Data Classification

Discover and classify sensitive data in NAS, SMB, and file servers. Strac automatically scans, detect

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Table of Contents

NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification: The Complete 2025 Guide

TL;DR

NAS environments store decades of unstructured data—PII, PHI, PCI, IDs, contracts—that security teams cannot see or classify.
NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification automatically scans SMB/CIFS/NFS file shares, extracts text, detects sensitive data, and maps exposure.
The workflow includes connecting to NAS, enumerating folders, downloading files, scanning content with OCR/ML/regex, and producing actionable findings.
Strac provides real-time and historical classification across NAS, SaaS apps, Cloud storage, and Endpoints with remediation and alerting.

✨ What Is NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification?

NAS Data Discovery and Classification Risks

Network Attached Storage (NAS) is the backbone of on-premises file storage for enterprises—SMB, CIFS, NFS, Windows File Servers, NetApp, Synology, QNAP, and DFS shares.

These file shares accumulate:

HR records
Customer spreadsheets
Financial data
Contracts
Backups
Images and PDFs
Exported CSVs from SaaS apps

Because this is unstructured, deeply nested, and often decades old, organizations lose visibility into what sensitive data is stored inside these folders.

NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification solves this by automatically:

connecting to NAS
enumerating all folders
extracting + scanning contents
classifying PII, PHI, PCI, Secrets
mapping permissions
uploading findings for remediation

It is the same core capability that Strac provides across Google Drive, Slack, Salesforce, Jira, O365, S3, RDS, and more — now extended to NAS.

✨ How NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification Works

NAS Data DIscovery and Classification: Scanning Overview

Connecting to NAS

The scanner authenticates via SMB/NFS credentials and identifies all accessible shares and directories.

Enumerating Files

It recursively walks folder structures and collects:

file path
owner
permissions
size
modified timestamp
file type
MIME type

Downloading & Extracting Text

The engine retrieves files (fully or in chunks) and extracts content using:

native text extraction
OCR for images/PDFs
ZIP/TAR/GZ/PST multi-level extraction

Classifying Sensitive Data

Strac’s engine identifies:

PII: names, emails, addresses, phone numbers, government IDs
PCI: card numbers, PAN, CVV
PHI: diagnosis keywords, MRN, subscriber ID
Financial data
API keys and secrets (optional)

Classification uses regex + context keywords + ML embeddings + structure analysis.

Generating Findings

Each file receives:

sensitive data types detected
exposure level
risk score
prioritization tags
recommended remediation actions

Results appear alongside other Strac integrations like Slack, Jira, Google Drive, Salesforce, and more:
https://www.strac.io/integrations

Why NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification Matters

Most enterprises underestimate the volume of sensitive data in NAS. Over time, file shares become dumping grounds for:

customer exports
CRM/UI logs
employee data
financial records
legacy backups
ZIP archives from decommissioned systems

Visibility Risk

No one knows where sensitive data lives.
No one knows who can access it.
No one knows what is overexposed.

Shadow AI Risk

Employees increasingly upload NAS files into:

ChatGPT
Gemini
Copilot
Claude

This creates uncontrolled exfiltration.

Compliance Risk

Multiple frameworks require mapping sensitive data in on-prem storage:

PCI DSS
HIPAA
ISO 27001
SOC 2
GDPR

Without NAS scanning, compliance evidence is incomplete.

Access Risk

NAS frequently contains:

Everyone-read access
Guest access
Orphaned AD permissions
Inherited misconfigurations

This is where breaches originate.

Common Challenges in NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification

Terabytes of Unstructured Data

Legacy archives, backups, PST files, and multi-level folders make discovery hard.
Strac uses incremental scanning, hashing, and change detection to avoid rescanning everything.

Deeply Nested File Structures

Some companies have 10–20 levels of nested folders.
Strac’s optimized crawler handles unlimited depth.

Mixed Document Types

DOCX, PDF, XLSX, CSV, TXT, PPTX, ZIPs, logs, images, emails — Strac extracts them all.

Permissions Mapping

Many breaches stem from misconfigured access.
Strac identifies:

world-readable folders
external access
AD group inheritance
stale users

Prioritization

Instead of scanning everything equally, Strac highlights:

highest-risk folders
files with large amounts of PII/PHI/PCI
exposed sensitive data
PCI hotspots
PHI clusters

✨ Real-World Use Cases for NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification

Finding Legacy PCI Card Data

Old spreadsheets and CSVs often contain full card numbers.

Identifying PHI in Support Dumps

Support teams export customer data, then drop it into NAS without protection.

Discovering SaaS Exports

Salesforce, Zendesk, Jira, HubSpot exports often contain sensitive fields and end up in NAS folders.

Detecting Overexposed Folders

Inherited permissions allow entire departments to access sensitive data left in shared drives.

Audit Preparation

Auditors require proof of:

data classification
data minimization
access restrictions
breach risk reduction

Strac generates audit-ready evidence.

NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification With Strac

Strac is a unified Data Security Platform offering:

NAS and on-prem file server scanning
SaaS DLP for Slack, Google Workspace, O365, Salesforce, Jira, Zendesk, etc.
Cloud DSPM for AWS/Azure/GCP storage
Endpoint DLP for macOS, Windows, Linux
Browser DLP for Gen AI upload blocking

Key NAS capabilities include:

Agentless scanning inside customer environment
OCR + ML classification
Real-time + historical scanning
Alerts to Slack, Teams, Email
Unified view of exposure across NAS + SaaS + Cloud + Endpoint
Roadmap: Remove public access, fix permissions, quarantine files

Explore integrations:
https://www.strac.io/integrations

NAS Sensitive Data Discovery & Classification FAQs

Is NAS scanning required for compliance?

Yes. PCI, HIPAA, ISO, SOC 2, and GDPR require organizations to know where sensitive data resides—NAS included.

Does scanning slow down the NAS?

Strac uses throttled, incremental crawlers to avoid load spikes.

Does data leave the customer’s environment?

No. Scanning happens on-prem. Only metadata and findings are sent to Strac Vault (or stay fully on-prem if deployed self-hosted).

Can Strac remediate risks automatically?

Remediation roadmap includes:

removing “Everyone” access
removing guest access
notifying file owners
quarantining files

Does Strac understand Windows AD permissions?

Yes. Strac reads ACLs, inheritance, and AD group structures.

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Sharepoint DLP Use Cases

Practical Scenario

A hospital’s billing and administrative teams use SharePoint Online to store patient invoices, medical reports, and insurance forms. While collaborating with external insurance providers, a staff member accidentally updates the permissions on a SharePoint document library to “Anyone with the link,” exposing potentially thousands of patient files containing PHI.

How Strac's Sharepoint DLP Helps

Continuous Data Discovery: Strac automatically scans existing and newly uploaded documents, identifying PHI (e.g., medical record numbers, Social Security Numbers).
Classification & Labeling: Once identified, files are labeled (e.g., “HIPAA Sensitive”), ensuring that administrators know which documents require the highest level of protection.
Visibility into Access: Strac provides real-time insight into who has access to these sensitive documents. Administrators can instantly see if unauthorized users or broad groups have viewing rights.
Revoke Public Links: If a file is publicly accessible, Strac immediately revokes those links and restores restricted access.
Alerts & Quarantines: When someone attempts to share PHI externally, Strac can alert admins, quarantine the file for review, or completely block the action.
Audit-Ready Reports: All actions are logged, enabling quick incident response and demonstrating HIPAA compliance for audits.

Practical Scenario

A mid-sized investment firm uses SharePoint to collaborate on various client files, including:

Credit card statements (subject to PCI-DSS)
ID documents (Driver’s Licenses, Passports, etc.) used for KYC (Know Your Customer) verification
Banking information such as account and routing numbers

An associate accidentally shares a SharePoint folder containing these files with a newly onboarded client who does not require access to all confidential documents. This folder is also accessible to several internal teams outside the immediate project, creating multiple potential exposure points.

How Strac's Sharepoint DLP Helps

Comprehensive Data Discovery: Strac scans both existing and newly uploaded documents in SharePoint for sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank account details, and ID documents (Driver’s License, Passport formats).
Classification & Automated Labeling: Once identified, Strac applies meaningful labels (e.g., “PCI-DSS Sensitive,” “PII – ID Documents,” “Banking Info”) to ensure these files stand out and are subject to stricter security rules.
Visibility into Access: Strac provides an immediate view of who currently has access to these sensitive files. This allows admins to spot situations where external clients or internal teams unnecessarily have permissions.
Public Access Revocation: If a labeled document (e.g., containing card data or ID scans) is found to be publicly shared or too broadly accessible, Strac automatically revokes these links or permissions, aligning access with the principle of least privilege.
Alerts, Quarantines, and Blocks: When a user attempts to share a labeled document with outside domains—or with an entire department—Strac alerts administrators or quarantines/blocks the file share, depending on policy settings.
In cases where the share is intentional but needs review, admins can approve or deny the request within Strac’s dashboard.
Audit & Compliance: Every sharing event, label assignment, and access revocation is logged, creating a detailed audit trail. This helps demonstrate compliance with PCI-DSS, KYC, AML, and other regulatory requirements.
Automatic reporting simplifies any regulatory or internal compliance audit, reducing the administrative burden on security and compliance teams.

Practical Scenario

A software company keeps source code, product roadmaps, and design specs in SharePoint. Several teams—including external contractors—use the same SharePoint site. A developer accidentally grants a large group, including some non-disclosure–exempt contractors, access to a folder containing patent-pending code.

How Strac's Sharepoint DLP Helps

Holistic File Scanning: Strac inspects documents, PDFs, and archives for code snippets, system designs, and proprietary business terms to detect potential IP.
Intelligent Labeling: Documents identified as containing IP or trade secrets are automatically classified (e.g., “Proprietary IP”), reinforcing the need for restricted sharing.
Real-Time Access Insights: With Strac, administrators can instantly see who has access to IP-tagged files, enabling them to remove unauthorized users or reduce permission scopes.
Immediate Link Removal: If a contractor or external partner is mistakenly granted access to IP, Strac revokes public or unauthorized sharing before the files can be downloaded.
Alerts & Blocking: Strac’s policies can be configured to alert security teams or block external sharing attempts for files containing proprietary content.
Incident Response & Auditing: Detailed logs of every share request, label change, and access revocation aid in quick incident resolution and help prove due diligence if legal issues arise.