Glossary of Terms

Term

Definition

Business Unit

A Business Unit is a collection of locations that represent a logical unit that allows groups of users to review Discovery results that are relevant to them.

Typically a Business Unit will map closely to a specific function within the business and collect relevant data from a range of different repositories or data sources.

Collector

A Collector process is responsible for interacting with content repositories. It will discover the content held in the repository and access object content to support Feature Extraction.

For on-premises repositories a Collector must be installed in the customer network. Cloud-based repositories are accessed using Cloud Collector instances hosted as part of the ActiveNav Cloud platform.

Collector Group

Collector Groups are used to organize on-premises Collectors. A Collector Group is defined for a logical set of repository hosts (typically along geo-location lines) to allow the ActiveNav Cloud platform to direct Discovery tasks to appropriate Collector instances.

Container

A Container is an element in a repository that contains other Containers or Objects to be discovered. Typical examples of Containers are folders in a file share, document libraries within a SharePoint Online tenant.

Data Source

The Data Source is a defined data location used to manage the Discovery of repository content.

The appropriate location for a Data Source is typically indicated by the structure of a repository – e.g. a file share, or SharePoint site collection – but other factors such as the desired schedule for re-discovery may lead to other choices.

Data Profile

The relationship of unstructured data objects to specific categories of metadata such as document type, size, age 

Discovery

Discovery is the process by which ActiveNav Cloud collects information about the Containers and Objects that are found within a chosen Data Source location.

A basic Discovery Only operation will collect basic attributes for the discovered content but will not open Objects for detailed analysis – this is the fastest way to gain insight into the volume of content within a location.

Discovery with Feature Extraction will also access textual content within discovered objects to identify targeted data features, but as a result will take longer to run.

Feature Extraction

Feature Extraction is the detailed analysis that we apply to textual content of objects. Directed by either the default ActiveNav Cloud sensitive data rules or custom rules to suit specific requirements, a range of textual analysis strategies are applied to identify the target textual features.

Feature Extraction uses carefully optimized pattern matching strategies, and is applied only to objects containing textual content in order to maximize throughput, however there is a performance overhead compared to Discovery Only due to the additional data transfer involved in making textual content available to the Collector process.

Feature Extraction does not lead to matched feature text being stored in the ActiveNav Cloud platform; only details of the type and quantity of features identified are recorded.

Object

An Object is an item within a repository that represents a form of generated content, unlike Containers which are simply organizing a hierarchy of Objects or other Containers.

Compressed archives in supported formats are treated as composite Objects and contained objects are analyzed independently with findings recorded against the parent archive Object. Subsidiary contained archives are not inspected for further expansion.

Scoring Configuration

The Scores hierarchy represents aspects of Discovered Objects such as Sensitive Data relevant to the Project and determines how Feature Extraction findings drive scoring of Objects and Containers.

The Scores hierarchy consists of the following levels.

• Impact Domain
  • Impact Area
    • Data Element Type
      • Data Element

Scores at the Data Element level determined by Feature Extraction results and are aggregated and reflected up the hierarchy to provide a weighted average score for an Object at each level of the hierarchy.

Container Scores are determined based on the scores assigned to Objects within the Container.

Scores configuration is accessed via the Business Rules > Scores menu whose presence is determined according to tenant settings.

Sensitive Data

Sensitive Data is any Data Element that may represent a risk to the business if not properly controlled.

It is normal for a business to hold Sensitive Data, but it should be handled according to regulations, subject to access controls that limit its exposure, and do not violate any customer agreement.

Typical forms of Sensitive Data relate to personal or financial privacy but any given business may have its own specific form of risky Sensitive Data.