Snowflake Data Discovery

Data Discovery, Classification and DSPM for Snowflake

Table of Contents

TL;DR:

Strac's Data Security Posture Management solution helps organizations manage and secure Snowflake data effectively.
Challenges include lack of data visibility, compliance issues, and unauthorized access.
Strac addresses these challenges with data discovery, sensitive data identification, compliance monitoring, and automated remediation.
The solution also offers data masking, encryption, and integration with existing tools.
Strac ensures Snowflake environments remain secure, compliant, and efficient.

In today’s data-driven world, organizations are increasingly turning to Snowflake for its powerful cloud data platform capabilities. However, managing and securing vast amounts of data within Snowflake can be challenging. This is where Strac's Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), Data Discovery, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution comes into play. Let's explore how Strac can help you unlock the full potential of your Snowflake data with comprehensive data discovery and security features.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Snowflake Data with Strac's Data Discovery Solution

Understanding the Challenges of Managing Snowflake Data

Snowflake offers unparalleled scalability, performance, and ease of use. Yet, with these advantages come challenges, particularly in data visibility, security, and compliance. Organizations often struggle with:

Lack of Comprehensive Data Visibility
Identification and Classification of Sensitive Data
Meeting Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
Managing Data Access and Preventing Unauthorized Access
Assessing and Mitigating Data Security Risks
Implementing Effective Data Masking and Encryption
Understanding Data Lineage and Detecting Anomalies
Automating Remediation of Security Issues
Scaling Data Management Efforts Efficiently
Integrating with Existing Tools and Systems

Discovering How Strac Addresses Snowflake Data Management Challenges

1. Enhancing Data Visibility and Inventory with Strac

Organizations need a clear and up-to-date map of their data landscape to manage and secure their Snowflake environment effectively. Strac's solution automatically discovers and inventories all data assets within Snowflake, providing comprehensive visibility. This ensures that you always know where your data resides and how it’s being used.

2. Identifying Sensitive Data Effectively with Strac

Identifying sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) is critical for maintaining security and compliance. Strac utilizes advanced data classification techniques to automatically detect and categorize sensitive data within Snowflake. This real-time identification helps protect critical information from potential breaches.

‎3. Ensuring Compliance and Regulatory Requirements with Strac

Staying compliant with data protection regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA is a complex, resource-intensive task. Strac simplifies this process by providing continuous monitoring for compliance, generating necessary reports, and offering remediation recommendations. This ensures that your organization meets regulatory requirements with minimal effort.

4. Managing Data Access Efficiently with Strac

Preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data is crucial for data security. Strac offers robust access control and auditing features, enabling organizations to manage user permissions effectively and monitor access patterns for anomalies. This helps safeguard sensitive data and maintain a secure Snowflake environment.

5. Assessing Data Security and Risks with Strac

Assessing and mitigating security risks associated with data storage and processing in Snowflake can be challenging without proper tools. Strac continuously evaluates the security posture of your data, identifying vulnerabilities, and providing actionable insights to reduce risks. This proactive approach helps mitigate potential threats before they become issues.

6. Implementing Data Masking and Encryption with Strac

Protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access while ensuring usability for legitimate purposes is essential. Strac implements data masking and encryption techniques to safeguard sensitive data within Snowflake. This ensures that data remains secure without disrupting business operations.

7. Streamlining Automated Remediation with Strac

Manual processes for addressing data security and compliance issues are time-consuming and prone to error. Strac provides automated remediation capabilities to quickly address identified issues. This includes adjusting access controls, encrypting data, or updating compliance settings, ensuring swift and effective responses to security threats.

8. Enhancing Integration with Existing Tools through Strac

Ensuring seamless integration with existing security, compliance, and data management tools is crucial for a cohesive data security strategy. Strac offers robust APIs and integration capabilities, allowing it to work seamlessly with other security and data management solutions already in place. This ensures a comprehensive and unified approach to data security.

Concluding Thoughts on Snowflake Data Discovery

Strac’s DSPM, Data Discovery, and DLP solution for Snowflake addresses the critical challenges of data visibility, security, and compliance. By providing comprehensive data discovery, sensitive data identification, continuous compliance monitoring, robust access control, and automated remediation, Strac ensures that your Snowflake environment remains secure, compliant, and efficient. Unlock the full potential of your Snowflake data with Strac and transform your data management and security strategy today.

For more information, visit Strac.io and see how Strac can revolutionize your data discovery and security efforts.y efforts.

Sensitive Data Types for Snowflake Data Discovery

Checkout all the sensitive data elements and file formats supported by Strac: https://www.strac.io/blog/strac-catalog-of-sensitive-data-elements

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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.