How IBM Guardium Data Protection for Files works

Monitor and audit all data activity

View all transactions on your file system, attached and removable storage by users, developers, outsourced personnel and applications. Identify users who attempt unauthorized access. Provide access monitoring independent of native operating system logging and audit functions. Improve data security by detecting unusual file activity. Inventory all files and metadata to provide a clear picture of your unstructured data landscape. Automate sensitive data discovery and classification.

Enforce security policies for file access and change control

Monitor and enforce security policies for sensitive unstructured data access, privileged user actions and change control. Use access policies to identify anomalous behavior such as mass copy and deletion of files and directories, detect spikes in file access activity by user, and receive alerts when monitored files are accessed improperly. Support policy-based actions such as auditing, real-time security alerts, and read and write blocking.

Accelerate compliance workflows and audit activities

Create a centralized repository that aggregates data throughout your enterprise for compliance auditing and reporting, correlation and forensics without enabling native operating system audit functions. Provide a tamper-proof audit trail that supports the separation of duties required by auditors. Deliver customizable compliance workflow automation to generate compliance reports and distribute them to oversight teams for electronic sign-offs and escalation to get the reports to the right people.

Safeguard sensitive data across heterogeneous environments

Monitor and audit activity on file systems, attached storage, and removable devices—across all leading platforms, file shares and operating systems. Support enterprise operating systems including Microsoft Windows, UNIX and Linux. Discover and classify sensitive enterprise data for all platforms and most file types. Monitor and prevent unauthorized access for all file types.

Discover and classify data in files and file systems

Discovers files containing sensitive data, and then uses customizable classification labels and entitlement management capabilities to create and enforce security policies. The solution: locates files; extracts metadata (name, path, date last modified, etc); stores details in a central repository; and examines file content to help identify credit card numbers, personal identifiers, source code, and more. Users can also add their own custom criteria. Supports NAS, SharePoint, Windows, Unix.

Technical details

Software requirements

Software requirements for IBM Guardium Data Protection for Files can be viewed at:

    Hardware requirements

    Hardware requirements for IBM Guardium Data Protection for Files can be viewed at:

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