Sensitive data is under constant attack. Whether it’s cybercriminals stealing customer records or insider threats leaking intellectual property. Organizations must take a proactive stance to safeguard their data, especially unstructured data. Unstructured data makes up over 80% of enterprise data and is notoriously difficult to protect.
What Are the Most Targeted Types of Sensitive Data?
Hackers go after data that can be monetized, exploited, or weaponized. Here are the top targets:
1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, emails, and more.
Why it’s targeted: Identity theft, phishing scams, fake accounts.
2. User Credentials
Usernames, passwords, security questions, biometric data.
Why it’s targeted: Account takeovers, credential stuffing, internal compromise.
3. Financial and Payment Information
Credit card numbers, bank details, payroll data.
Why it’s targeted: Fraud, direct financial theft, resale on the dark web.
4. Protected Health Information (PHI)
Medical records, diagnosis data, insurance information.
Why it’s targeted: Medical identity theft, ransomware, extortion.
5. Corporate Confidential Data
Intellectual property, trade secrets, business strategies.
Why it’s targeted: Corporate espionage, market manipulation, blackmail.
Most Sensitive Data Lives in Unstructured Formats
Spreadsheets, PDFs, emails, chat logs, audio files, scanned documents — this is unstructured data, and it’s everywhere. The challenge? It often hides in plain sight with no easy way to discover, classify, or protect it.
Unstructured data makes up over 80% of enterprise data. Unlike structured data in databases, unstructured data doesn’t follow a clear format, making it much harder to search, classify, or protect. Sensitive information like PII, financial details, or intellectual property is often buried within these files, scattered across file shares, collaboration tools, and cloud storage.
As remote work, digital collaboration, and AI usage grow, unstructured data is being generated faster than most organizations can keep track of. This lack of visibility creates major risks. Unstructured data is a prime target for attackers because it’s often overlooked by traditional security tools.
It’s also at the center of growing compliance challenges — organizations can’t protect or delete sensitive data if they don’t know where it lives. Businesses face increased exposure to data breaches, regulatory fines, and operational disruptions.
This is where unstructured data management tools come in.
How to Protect Sensitive Data with Unstructured Data Management Tools
Here’s how organizations can use these tools to strengthen their data security posture:
1. Data Discovery and Classification
Use AI-powered scanning to automatically identify sensitive data across your ecosystem, including:
- PII in email attachments
- PHI in medical documents
- Credentials in log files
Many tools use natural language processing (NLP) to detect sensitive data even in complex formats.
2. Contextual Access Controls
After classification, apply fine-grained access policies:
- Define who can access what
- Set conditions for access (e.g., device type, location)
- Maintain detailed access logs
This reduces unauthorized access and limits insider threats.
3. Data Masking and Encryption
Automatically mask or encrypt sensitive fields in files or documents without disrupting workflows.
For example, anonymized patient data can be shown to researchers without exposing full health information.
4. Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts
Get immediate alerts when sensitive data is moved, accessed, or modified in unusual ways.
This enables rapid response to potential breaches or policy violations.
5. Retention and Deletion Policies
Set intelligent retention rules based on compliance needs and automatically delete data when it’s no longer needed.
This reduces your attack surface and helps manage storage costs efficiently.
Ready to Take Control of Your Data?
Sensitive data is the lifeblood of modern organizations — and also their biggest liability. With attackers targeting everything from PII to IP, it’s not enough to rely on traditional perimeter defenses. You need visibility and control over your unstructured data, where most threats hide.
By leveraging a robust unstructured data management tool, you can discover, classify, protect, and govern your sensitive data at scale — while staying compliant with evolving data privacy regulations.If you’re exploring solutions to manage your unstructured data and protect sensitive information, let’s talk. We can help you evaluate tools that align with your industry, risk profile, and compliance requirements. Get started today!
