In this article, you'll learn how to manage regulations, create classifiers, and apply data protection actions in Actifile.
Regulations
Actifile ensures data protection in compliance with industry standards and frameworks applicable across different regions but also allows you to customize data protection settings according to your organization’s needs.
When you create a customer account, you select the country and regulations that will apply to it.
By default, the following regulations are enabled:
– PII for personally identifiable information (e.g., social security number, date of birth, email).
– PCI for payment card information.
– HIPAA for sensitive healthcare data.
– IT Governance for network security data.
These default settings cover the most common data risks, but feel free to browse the list of existing regulations to enable or disable them according to your needs. To do so, navigate to Deployment > Regulations (in the old interface: Deployment > Compliance Profile).
Classifiers
Classifiers are sets of conditions that define a data type, such as social security numbers, credit cards, specific extensions, and more. They derive from the regulations that you select, but you can also add them manually from the template classifiers library or create them from scratch.
To view and manage the list of your active classifiers, navigate to Deployment > Classifiers > Active Classifiers (in the old interface: Deployment > Policies > Classifiers).
Classifier types
In Actifile, you can flag data using the following basis:
- Content: Identify files based on specific text patterns or regular expressions.
- Extensions: Classify files by their extensions.
- Storage platform (formerly “File Source”): Select files stored on platforms like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or SharePoint.
- Process (formerly “Channel”): Flag files based on their interaction with specific applications.
- Folder: Filter files by their location.
You can also combine multiple classifiers to create compound classifiers. For more details, check out the following article:
Want to learn how to update, delete, or create custom classifiers? Explore this guide:
Data protection actions
Once you’ve identified sensitive data using classifiers, you can take action to protect it. Actifile enables you to:
- Encrypt data: Secure your files by encrypting them, ensuring unauthorized users can’t access the data—even in the event of a breach.
- Block unauthorized operations: Prevent actions such as deletion, sharing, changing file extensions, or transferring files to removable devices.
- Set up notifications: Receive alerts if any unauthorized actions are attempted.
For more details on data protection actions, check out this article:
– Data protection actions (formerly rules)
Template classifiers
Template classifiers are pre-defined by the Actifile team, offering a library of ready-to-use options. To explore the available templates, navigate to: Deployment > Classifiers > Template Classifiers (in the old interface: Deployment > Policies > Classifier Templates).
To view the details of a specific template, click the eye icon at the end of its row.
You can leverage template classifiers in three ways:
- Use as-is: Add a template to your active classifiers list and start using it right away.
- Customize: Modify a template to better suit your organization’s specific needs.
- Combine: Incorporate a template classifier into a custom compound classifier.
For detailed guidance on using template classifiers, explore this article:
– Template classifiers
Unsure if you need a classifier? Check out the Classifier Descriptions section to learn more about predefined classifiers, what they detect, and whether you should enable them:
Classifier updates
The Actifile team continuously enhances the pre-defined classifiers associated with the regulations you rely on. To take advantage of the latest improvements, make sure to check the Classifier Updates page regularly.
For more details, refer to this article: