Graphic designers work with one of the most data-intensive forms of media, meaning their data size can quickly swell. This is doubly true for those working with animation or video alongside their visual projects.
You have partially finished files. Vectors. Songs, and so much more. The worst part is that, unless you keep a strict routine about sorting, managing, and even purging your data, you run the risk of losing track of it altogether.
This is known as dark or shadow data. This type of data isn’t just a missed opportunity, but it’s also a massive security risk.
The Dangers of Shadow Data
Shadow data is information we’ve lost track of but still have. They’re the files buried in files and folders and subfolders and left forgotten for years and years. A significant chunk of any business’s data is shadow, redundant, obsolete, or trivial, but it’s the shadow data that poses the biggest risk to all companies, including graphic design ones.
Just over a third of data breaches involved shadow data. Worse, data breaches that involved this shadow data took 26.2% longer to get a handle on. The average? 291 days. That’s a significant amount of time for your business to be on the back foot.
With creative industries feeling the strain already, the last thing you want is for a data breach to impact your workflow, brand trust, and access to your assets.
What can you do? You can implement these simple but effective solutions:
Implement DSPM Security
One of the first steps you are going to want to take to get a more unified view of your data and to immediately start securing it is to invest in a DSPM security solution. What is DSPM security? In short, it’s an AI and machine learning-powered system that works to index all your data (including your shadow data) and then categorize it based on sensitivity. It can also find duplicates and make sure that your data adheres to GDPR and similar policies. Another benefit is that it can help you better understand your files access permissions.
Access isn’t an issue if you work by yourself and your files are wholly your own and no one else’s, but if you operate an agency or work collaboratively, tightening up access privileges is an easy and effective way to reduce breach sizes while keeping everyone productive.
Establish Data Governance Frameworks
Data governance is a structured framework that dictates a few key rules that you will want to apply to all your existing data and any data you create in the future. It can include things as simple as establishing naming convention rules like [draft], [approved], or [archived]. It can (and should) also include set metadata rules, classification rules, user access rules, and so on.
Establish these rules, and then carry them out on all future files you make. You can then use DSPM to streamline some classification.
These frameworks, once fully carried out across your datasphere, will make it easier to find the data you need, reduce unnecessary data bulk, and better secure your data, protecting your business and your assets in the process.
