Old information is risky information!
As often as not, sensitive data putting Cornell at risk is no longer relevant to current work and the person using the computer is not even aware of it. The most common problem is files dating back to when Social Security numbers were still being used as a general identifier. Sometimes these are files from a previous user of the computer.
Data discovery software is used to search a computer for sensitive information, including some of the types of data Cornell has classified as confidential, such as social security numbers and credit card numbers.
A data discovery software program examines the documents on a computer's hard drive, or a specified portion of the hard drive, looking for possible instances of sensitive information. You can also scan removable or external drives and network shares. Depending on how much material is on the disk, and how powerful the computer is, this scanning process can take a significant amount of time. Once the scan has completed, you will be able to review the results.
For each instance of what might be sensitive data, the data discovery software shows you where it was found and gives you the choice of:
Follow your department’s local practices!
Contact your department’s technical support staff to inquire about local practices around data discovery.
For more information about searching your computer for sensitive data that the university has classified as confidential, see the Guide to Data Discovery at Cornell.
